Honoring for Prevention by Susie Spain

Honoring for Prevention

by Susie Spain

“Susie Spain is an activist, noted addiction specialist, and founder of Angels at Risk, the cutting-edge program that addresses adolescent drug and alcohol use and abuse, will be honored with the “Distinguished Service to the Community Award” at the 9th Annual “Polo in the Palisades” fundraiser, Saturday, September 27th at Will Rogers State Park, Pacific Palisades. Hosted by The Promises Foundation, the event benefits Miriam’s House, a transitional living home that provides a one-year program of recovery services, parenting and educational opportunities designed to support the reunification of mothers and children.” ---Katy Sweet, PR

As a charity, Angels at Risk’s prevention education mission has always included flying below the radar by design to maintain integrity, confidentiality and authenticity of heart which is why this honor is so beautiful for all of us.

Me being honored at the 9th Annual Polo event in the Palisades on behalf of Miriam’s House was just a way of saying that prevention is finally being accredited and esteemed in a bigger way than ever before, that’s what counts, that’s what’s really important. I am just the lucky girl.

All of us thank Patricia Meyers and Miriam’s House for the day and what an amazing cause theirs is to prevent harms way for mother’s and their babies and to give a child a righteous start in the beginning of their lives, which is something every soul deserves. Patricia is a hero and an angel who has changed our destiny forever.

Robert Belushi, who introduced me on the day and who is an Angels at Risk activist quotes “Susie has been at the forefront of youth dependency prevention for many years, and when I met her I was no angel. But Susie saved my life, and Angels at Risk exposed me to the tools I would use much later to rescue a life worth living. I know that it works and I’m grateful to her for working tirelessly to remove hopelessness from my life, and the lives of many others who don’t know that there is another way.”

While Robert’s quote is directed to his experience with me and Angels at Risk it is honestly and poignantly a perfect way to talk about the power of prevention education’s impact.

So this kind of gift, honor, award, again for me is flattering but beyond doubt is about the collective. It’s all about everybody who has been on this journey together since 1997. It’s about the people and participants on every level. Families who have come to the program, kids who have come to our programs, schools that use our programs, government officials who acknowledge our programs, philanthropists that support our programs and all the voices who have believed from the beginning, rich or poor, public or private, famous or not, no socioeconomic background has mattered.

Prevention is a great equalizer and now it’s the future.

For more information or to read stories from parents/kids please visit www.angelsatrisk.com

By Susie Spain, Founder