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.
She grew up in Lockport NY and went to school originally for cosmetology. She grew up riding horses before having a fall that caused four shoulder surgeries and struggling with an addiction to opiates. She is celebrating three, almost four years of sobriety. She came to Save the Michaels starting as a Secretary in our Niagara County office, before moving up rapidly, and becoming a part of the transportation team. Jessica spends her time horseback riding, with her dog or reading. She is in school full time for her CASAC-T and plans to move on to a degree in social work. She assists in every department but is primarily focused on reporting, transportation, and graphic design.
Jessica has been with save the Michaels two years in June and is proud of the difference her team makes every day. She is grateful to be a part of a team who is fighting to change the structure around addiction and homelessness. Jessica looks forward to seeing the changes and growth of the system as STM moves forward.
“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.”
Monday, May 22nd from 7PM-8:30PM on WebEx
Cordelia Kraus, LPC, CADC-I
To Attend A Webex Group
Go to our Webex Room: https://savethemichaels.webex.com/meet/rchost