Leadership Team

Chuck Madden (CEO & CO-Founder)

I AM … a person in long term recovery. However, I am so much more. I know first hand the difficulty of accepting the fact that I am an alcoholic, followed by the impossible task of asking for help. My recovery journey began on February 8, 1999, and it was a catastrophe. I bounced around AA never fully engaging, only going through the motions. I am one of the lucky ones, I am alive. As a sober coach, self-help leader in Drug-Free Youth, Teen Court, and Sarasota County Jail Recovery Pod for 10+ years I have had the honor of working with adolescents, young adults, inmates, and families.

What I know for sure is that meetings saved my life and not attending meetings has claimed the lives of far too many. I have attended too many funerals which could have been avoided had the people attended AA, NA, etc meetings consistently and continuously. Addiction is a powerful killer however we have the tools to neutralize much of its power. Addiction grows by its ability to isolate each of its victims. Addicts/Alcoholics lie so convincingly about the problem and attending a meeting, it becomes easier for those close to us to accept what they know is not true.

I was in-and-out of meetings and still drinking for nearly 10 years. I earned the nickname “90 day Chuck”, but ironically was never able to achieve 90 days sober. Though I never maintained any sobriety, nor really liked the people in AA, I kept going back to the rooms … to the people who were able to do what I could not. Fortunately, something finally clicked for me and the lights came on August 8th, 2008. I am committed to helping as many people as possible find their light.

Verification, accountability to others and the sense of community is so important to anyone’s long term recovery. I have spent the past 4 years working on a tool that will help addicts and their loved ones achieve their goal of sobriety.

The bottom line for me, the friendships developed in those rooms saved my life. Meetings saved my life! Maybe if we can actually get someone to attend meetings, even when they don’t want to or think they need to, the miracle can take root …. Just like it did for me.

We can do better. We will do better. We must do better! Together we can SAVE LIVES…..

My name is Chuck, and I am a person in long term recovery.

David H. Rosenberg (CLO & CO-Founder)

I AM … the son of an alcoholic. However, I am so much more. I am an attorney, business owner, husband, father, and friend to many. My experiences have shaped but don’t define me. I remember being in high-school and trying to beat my mom to the phone when it rang. I did not want my mom to answer the phone.  I did not want anyone to know that my mom had a problem. I did not want my friends to make fun of me.  What I really wanted was for my mom to be “OK” and get better, though at that time I am not sure that I actually realized what the problem was.  Admittedly, I did know that there was almost always a dixie cup filled with scotch hidden under the sink in the bathroom.

During college, I remember my mom going to stay at an inpatient treatment facility.  I remember driving up to the facility one dreary Boston afternoon in March.  I remember my dad, General Counsel for McLean Hospital at the time, meeting me there from work in his three-piece suit and tie and I remember thinking that we did not belong here.  This was my mom’s problem. I remember thinking that this place was disgusting.  I remember thinking that we were somehow better than this. I remember being in a group meeting and my dad telling the group that unless she “got her shit together” that he was not going to spend his life with her.  I remember the anger.

Over the next few years, I lived at home with my parents while I was in law school. I witnessed the day-to-day struggles of my mom. Some days were good for mom.  Some days were not so good.  I remember her telling me she was going to meetings.  I had no way to really know if this was true or not, though I suspect it was often nothing more than wishful thinking on her part.   What I do know is that my mom struggled with her addiction right up to her death.

Maybe if we can actually get moms and dads and kids to attend meetings, even when they don’t want to or think they need to, then we can improve the outcome; not just for the addict, but also for the family members!

We can do better.  We will do better We must do better!  Together we can SAVE FAMILIES…..

My name is David and I am the son of an Alcoholic.