People in all stages and ages of life struggling with addiction know they have a friend at the LCADA Way. Since 1981, the nonprofit organization has delivered customized approaches for treatment to men, women and adolescents in Lorain, Medina, Erie and Cuyahoga counties and surrounding communities.
“The LCADA Way is for anyone who needs it,” says Joe Matuscak, the organization’s director of marketing, development and communications. “We’re here to help.”
On Oct. 27, the LCADA Way will hold Pearls of Wisdom, its annual benefit and recognition dinner, at Embassy Suites Rockside in Independence.
The keynote speaker for the evening is Dr. Drew Pinsky. For 25 years, Pinsky served as program medical director of the chemical dependency unit at Las Encinas Hospital, an acute inpatient psychiatric facility in Pasadena, California. Board-certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine, he has been an assistant clinical professor at the University of Southern California School of Medicine in the department of psychiatry.
Known nationally as “Dr. Drew,” Pinsky is the author of Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again and hosts a number of streaming shows and podcasts on drdrew.com.
“Unfortunately, we’ve gotten to the point where everyone knows someone who’s struggling with addiction,” Pinsky says. “One of the reasons I became interested in addiction is that it became clear to me some time ago that this is the medical problem of our time. This country, in particular, has a deficit in resources for mental health treatment, and we have an extraordinary amount of people coming out of their childhood with trauma. We have a spiritual malady in this country that’s showing itself through the disease of addiction.
“LCADA is the shining beacon of light in a pretty dark landscape,” he adds. “It’s gratifying to see the community support this worthwhile organization.”
For more information or to purchase tickets for Pearls of Wisdom, call 440-989-4919 or visit thelcadaway.org/events
