Save the Michaels of the World, Inc. was established in June of 2011 as a small kitchen roundtable action group, to bring attention and awareness of the devastating effects of opioid medications after the death by suicide of 20 year old Michael David Israel.
Avi and Julie Israel decided they didn’t want to see other families suffer the loss of a loved one. The journey started with an interview with a Buffalo News reporter who told Michael’s story. That story got more attention from TV stations. Doctors, patients, parents and the population as a whole are not aware of the danger of opiate addiction. We wanted to find a way to address the overprescribing of pain medications such as hydrocodone and others.
Case Management Supervisor
Save the Michaels Lockport
Sarah joined Save the Michaels in the January of 2025 as the Case Manager Supervisor for the HHUNY program located in the Lockport Recovery Center. In 2016 Sarah lost her husband to an opiate overdose which left her as a single mother of 3. Following the loss of her husband Sarah battled with depression followed by a struggle with addiction for the next several years of her life. Due to her life battles, Sarah found an opportunity to begin work in the mental health and SUD field. While still struggling with addiction on and off Sarah bounced around to a couple different agencies providing peer work, case management, housing, and office management. Sarah knew working in this field was what she was meant to do and had a passion for helping people. After a few months of sobriety beginning in April of 2024, Sarah saw the job posting for Save the Michaels and knew that this was the opportunity that she had been waiting for. Since starting in her current position with Save the Michaels, Sarah uses her life experiences to connect with individuals while assisting them to navigate their way through life and link them with the resources necessary for their path to recovery. Sarah believes Save the Michaels has been the missing piece the fills the void in her life since her husband passed. Sarah will be celebrating one year of sobriety in the month of April and wants to thank all her employees, co-workers, peers and participants for helping her find her true self again and being a part of her sobriety journey.
‘Narcan — it gives people a second chance’: New Narcan vending machine to save lives
https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/northtowns/narcan-it-gives-people-a-second-chance-new-narcan-vending-machine-to-save-lives
There is a new way of fighting the drug overdose epidemic to save lives. A Narcan vending machine is now installed outside the Kenmore Fire Department.
“I reached out to Save the Michaels over 2 years ago and was looking for help with my husband, who is an alcoholic and at the time, he did not want to get any help. I came to understand that I needed help too. I have come a long way. I have a new perspective on things that I just didn’t think about amid all the drinking HE was doing. I can truly say that STM gave me the tools to use to keep things under control for ME. Once I used the tools suggested to me, I can honestly say that I was given a voice I didn’t know I had. I can say thanks to STM and their encouragement that my husband is now SOBER for a year and a half, and it has been awesome. SO, THANK YOU SAVE THE MICHAEL’S FOR WHAT YOU DO. YOU ALL ARE AMAZING PEOPLE. YOU SAVED TWO PEOPLE THE DAY YOU CALLED BACK. GOD BLESS.”
“Tapping into the support provided by Save The Michaels has been an absolute godsend. We highly recommend it.”
“I am beyond grateful to tell you that because of your services…I was able to have my two beautiful daughters returned to my care.”