Michael J. Dias Foundation Director of Operations Robert Jaszek joined Dennis Hackett and Lauren LeBel on the latest episode of “So That Reminds Me.”
Reminder Publishing photo by Chris Maza
On the latest episode of “So That Reminds Me,” Lauren LeBel and I sat down with Michael J. Dias Foundation Director of Operations Robert Jaszek about the foundation’s work.
Jaszek explained that the organization was founded after Michael Dias died in 2009 after a struggle with addiction. The foundation was officially established in 2012 before it opened Michael’s House in 2014, to help men dealing with addiction.
“The family was looking for a way to turn that into a positive and be helpful to other men in that position,” Jaszek said.
Now, Jaszek said the foundation operates three sober houses for men struggling with addiction, all of which are named after people who died from their struggles with addiction, including Sean’s Place, and Christian and Brian’s House.
“What we do is we provide safe housing for guys to come and stay, and work on their recovery. That is a long process with many facets, financial stability, employment,” he said. “A lot of the guys that come to us are homeless and have nowhere to go, and it can be very difficult to begin that journey when you don’t have anywhere to go.”
Jaszek explained that the houses use a 12-step process to go beyond putting down drugs and alcohol.
“It’s different for everybody, but some people feel that just putting down drugs and alcohol is all there is to it, and a 12-step recovery perspective is more than that, there’s other things at work that need to be addressed in your recovery,” he said.
While Michael’s House and Brian and Christian’s House are 12-step recovery houses with 14 and 22 beds, respectively, Jaszek explained that Sean’s Place is a transition house with eight beds.
In addition to the three men’s sober homes, the foundation is also raising funds for a Women’s Recovery Residence, which has raised $238,000 out of its $500,000 goal. Jaszek said that the funding for this residence is especially important because he said there are less sober homes for women in the area.
“It appears very difficult for women in recovery. The resources are not the same availability that there are for men. There’s a big disparity from the amount of men’s houses there are locally to the amount of women’s houses there are locally,” he said. “We see a need there and we are trying to play a part in helping with that.”
The foundation will continue to accept donations until the goal is met and donations can be made at mjdiasfoundation.org.
In addition to making a direct donation, the foundation hosts several fundraising events each year. These include the annual golf tournament at Ludlow Country Club on Oct. 6. In May, the foundation also was the beneficiary of the second Whoopie Pie Waddle, which was organized by Compass Recovery and Joey’s Deli.
Jaszek also discussed a grant of $20,000 the foundation received on Sept. 24 from the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office that will help residents of the homes with rent.
“We are not state funded at all, the men have to pay rent, so, it can be very difficult early in recovery when you are not financially stable or employed, so how do you manage getting in a place to make those things happen … so, there are numerous ways, and the DA grant specifically, assists the guys coming in, it gives them a little bit of time and will cover their rent, and they’re able to settle in and find a job, and begin to pay rent on their own,” Jaszek said.
Jaszek added that community partnerships, like with the district attorney, are invaluable.
“It takes a team, sometimes when we’re working in these circles, it can feel or appear or be talked about like we’re competitors, and we’re not, we’re all on the same team. They have a safe place to live, so they want to go and obtain extra treatment say through IOP, Compass or Empower, they want to help other people to do the same,” he said. “So, it’s amazing.”
For people seeking help, Jaszek said sign ups are available at mjdiasfoundation.org. From there, applicants will go through an interview process with the foundation. Anyone in the state in beyond is welcome to apply.
“My partner responds usually within 24 hours, sometimes almost immediately, and we set up an interview and talk to the person applying to see if what they are trying to do aligns with what we do at our houses,” he said.
To listen to the full episode, head to thereminder.com/our-podcast or search “So That Reminds Me” on your favorite platform to listen to podcasts on.
