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Friendship Counts from page 11
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Above: A Recovery
Home interior
— inviting and cozy
Left: The Friendship
House library has a
wealth of resources.
Walk4Friendship — How To Go
The 4th annual Walk4 Friendship will be from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept.13,
starting at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. Registration
and T-shirt pick-up at 1 p.m. The ending point is Friendship Circle-Meer Family
Friendship campus, 6892 W. Maple, West Bloomfield. Here, from 3-5 p.m., will
be refreshments, entertainment and activities for the whole family, includ-
ing a concert by 13-year-old musical prodigy Kodi Lee, who is both blind and
autistic, and is currently recording with Motown legend Stevie Wonder.
Shuttle service runs from 3:30-6 p.m. to nearby parking lots at
Congregation B'nai Moshe, 6800 Drake, and Temple Israel, 5727 Walnut Lake,
both in West Bloomfield. Shuttle service begins at 12:30 p.m. B'nai Moshe and
at 1 p.m. at Temple Israel.
Participation in the walk is free. Every registered walker receives a free
Walk4Friendship T-shirt. Major sponsors are Huntington Bank and Invescor.
For information: The Friendship Circle at (248) 788-7878 or
www.friendshipcircle.org or www.walk4friendship.com .
12
September 3 • 2009
later, they're still actively involved.
"This is like a family, and as our kids
grow, their needs change and we need to
expand so we can keep helping them," said
Friedman of West Bloomfield.
Friendship Circle relies on members
of the Morrie and Sybil Fenkell Volunteer
Club, a group of close to 900 dedicated
teenagers and adults who give freely of
their time and boundless energy to bring
the programs to life.
Their philosophy is one of friendship,
not pity, where kids with special needs are
considered valuable members of the com-
munity. Student "presidents" at local high
schools meet regularly to exchange ideas
and participate in leadership training.
Josh Levinson, 29, has "graduated" from
being a program participant to a valued
employee at LifeTown, where he helps care
for the animals in the pet shop five after-
noons a week.
"He feeds and trains the animals and
bathes the bearded dragons," said his
father, Dr. Martin Levinson of Huntington
Woods. "It's a valuable experience for him,
and he serves an important function?'
Removing The Stigma
The West Bloomfield program was the first
Friendship Circle in the world, started in
1994 by Rabbi Levi Shemtov, whose origi-
nal mission was to help Jewish addicts and
alcoholics. When his wife, Bassie, decided
to pursue an additional project, her
research revealed the need for program-
ming for children with special needs and
their families.
As both programs grew, Rabbi Shemtov
hired Rabbi Yisrael Pinson to run the
Jewish recovery component, now known
as the Daniel B. Sobel Friendship House.
Today the West Bloomfield program
continues to serve as a model for the 80
Friendship Circle organizations that now
exist in seven countries worldwide. The
Ferber Kaufman LifeTown building is still
the only one of its kind, although similar
facilities now are being designed and built
in various locations in the United States
and Canada.
For those who believe that Jewish
people are exempt from problems with
drugs, alcohol and other addictions, a visit
to the Friendship House will quickly dis-
pel that myth. Now in its seventh year, this
ever-growing Jewish recovery community
serves more than 500 individuals and
families who struggle with alcoholism,
drug addiction, gambling, eating disorders
and compulsive sexual behaviors.
"Recovery Rabbi" Yisrael Pinson is
committed to removing the stigma that
prevents many Jewish addicts from
seeking help. In 2008, he joined forces
with Chabad.org , one of the world's
largest Jewish Web site, to create WWW.
Jewishrecovery.org, the first Web site
devoted to Jewish people struggling with
various types of addiction.
"For years I thought I was the only
Jewish woman with a drinking problem,"
said a West Bloomfield woman who has
been sober for more than five years.
"I'd look at other mothers with their
kids in the grocery store and think that
none of them were like me. I felt so
ashamed. At Friendship House, I learned
that I'm not alone, and that it's possible to
recover."
More than 150 people come to
Friendship House every week to attend
the seven 12-step meetings held there. In
addition, there is a women's lunchtime
study group, a dinner recovery class and
several alcohol-free social events through-
out the year, including monthly Shabbos
dinners and other holiday gatherings.
The venue feels more like a home than
an organization, with its comfortable liv-
ing room furniture, large dining room
table and well-equipped kitchen. A library
filled with recovery-related books is open
to all who walk through its doors.
Friendship Recovery Homes, a new
residential program, provides a supportive
living environment that helps ease the
sometimes-difficult transition back into
society. The program helps recovering
addicts make the changes necessary to
maintain long-term sobriety.
"It's been a lifesaving experience for
me," said one resident, who moved to the
Farmington Hills men's home after recov-
ering from a near-death alcoholic relapse.
"I've been able to get back on my feet,
physically, financially and spiritually. It's
like a family; we're all brothers here, look-
ing out for each other."
"We work with the clients to create goals
and help them do whatever is necessary
to achieve them," said Sarah Rosenzweig,
program director for Friendship Recovery
Homes. "Everything is focused through a
12-step lens," said Rosenzweig, who also
coordinates a new Recovery Coaching
Program for people needing support on an
outpatient basis.
"Friendship Circle is one of the only
Jewish organizations in Metro Detroit
that hasn't cut back on staff and salaries;
{Friendship Circle] is hiring new people,'
Pinson said.
Parents such as DeAnna Granitz of
Commerce Township cannot imagine life
without the Friendship Circle.
"To me, it's like a second home,' said
Granitz, who has two sons with Aspergers
Syndrome — Gabriel, 8, and Maxwell, 13.
Another son, Noah, serves as a volunteer.
"I never have to worry about how they're
going to act. We love it here." H