What’s in a name? For Lorain County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services Inc., (LCADA), it’s Leadership, Compassion, Awareness, Dedication and Advocacy. Since 1981, the nonprofit organization has delivered individualized approaches to recovery that are customized for men, women and adolescents in Lorain, Medina, Erie, Cuyahoga and surrounding counties struggling with addiction and mental health issues. “The LCADA Way means meeting individually with each person we serve to find out what they actually need and where they are in the recovery process,” says The LCADA Way President and CEO Dan Haight. “In other words, what is that person willing to do today to become sober? From there, we surround them with the specific support they need to holistically recover. Then, we expand our outreach even further to their family and friends because we want to help them recover from this as well.” On Oct. 21, The LCADA Way will hold its Pearls of Wisdom event, the organization’s annual benefit and recognition dinner. The keynote speaker for the evening is former U.S. Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy. Kennedy, the youngest son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, is a leading advocate for mental health, addiction awareness and education. In 2013, he founded The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit organization working to advance health equity through evidence-based practices, policies, political will and programming in mental health and addiction treatment. Kennedy is the co-author of “A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction,” which poignantly details his battle with both. “It is so important that we in this country understand that there are people suffering [from addiction] from coast to coast, and we are all in this together,” Kennedy says. “I’m honored to salute [The] LCADA [Way] on the organization’s milestone 40-year anniversary.” For more information or to purchase tickets for Pearls of Wisdom, call
440-989-4919 or visit https://one.bidpal.net/2021pearlsgala/welcome.