They lost their son, then started an agency to help addicts navigate treatment

addiction recovery ebulletin agency helps addicts

A Higher Calling –

April 14, 2018 – Founded by Avi and Julie Israel of Buffalo, Save the Michaels transitioned last year into an agency for addicts in need as well as their families, designed to help them navigate a confusing system and get treatment quickly – and to help people stay off drugs for the long term. “What Avi is doing is certainly critical in terms of education, intervention, support of families and assisting people who are seeking treatment,” said Anne D. Constantino, president and CEO of Horizon Health Services, the largest provider of outpatient mental health and substance abuse services in Western New York. “He’s been very, very helpful to the treatment system.” The Save the Michaels effort seems to be working, too. The new agency reports that so far, it appears that far fewer of its clients are relapsing than would usually be the case. “What Avi and Julie Israel have done is nothing short of extraordinary,” said State Sen. Tim Kennedy, a Buffalo Democrat who recently helped get the agency $425,000 in state funds to expand its operations.