Fridays 10:00am - 11:00am (EDT)
EPISODE SUMMARY:
This episode offers a powerful, honest look at addiction, recovery, and what it truly means to rebuild a life from the ground up. Through lived experience and real-world solutions, listeners will gain insight into the recovery community, available resources, and how they can be part of the solution. Whether you're in recovery, know someone who is struggling, or simply want to make a difference, you'll walk away inspired, informed, and empowered to take action.
💪 This Friday on Philanthropy in Phocus! 💪
Join host Tommy DiMisa #InTheAttic as he welcomes Kevin Raab and Kenneth Nicholson, co-founders of the No Matter What Foundation, a Long Island-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals and families impacted by substance use disorder. Through scholarships, treatment referrals, and ongoing support, this organization stands by people in recovery—no matter what. 🛤️✨
This week, we explore “No Matter What: Breaking Barriers to Recovery.” Kevin and Kenneth share their powerful personal stories, the founding of their organization, and the lived experience that fuels their mission to walk alongside others on the path to healing and purpose.
🕙 Tune in Friday, April 18th at 10 am EST to hear about overcoming obstacles to treatment, creating a community of second chances, and the hope that lives beyond addiction. 🎧
✨ Why listen?
Hear real stories of addiction, recovery, and resilience from two leaders with lived experience.
Discover the unique model of support that combines treatment access, peer mentoring, and practical solutions.
Learn how you can make a difference in the fight against addiction in your community.
Name of your organization: No Matter What Foundation
Website: www.nmw-foundation.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554785383108
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-matter-what
#PhilanthropyInPhocus #NoMatterWhatFoundation #RecoverySupport #AddictionAwareness #SecondChances #CommunityHealing #TommyDiMisa
Tune in for this sensible conversation at TalkRadio.nyc
In this heartfelt opening segment of Philanthropy in Phocus, Tommy DiMisa welcomes the co-founders of the No Matter What Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping individuals access addiction recovery services regardless of financial barriers. Highlighting the foundation's origins, the founders share how a simple idea—raising money to help just one person—evolved into a life-saving nonprofit that vets and connects people to reputable treatment centers. With a deep commitment to ending the stigma around mental health and substance abuse, this episode powerfully emphasizes urgency, compassion, and community-driven solutions for recovery support.
In this inspiring segment of Philanthropy in Phocus, Tommy DiMisa continues his conversation with the co-founders of the No Matter What Foundation, spotlighting the organization’s ripple effect in transforming lives through addiction recovery support. The founders reflect on how a simple idea between four friends has already helped over a hundred people access treatment and sober living, emphasizing compassion, community, and immediate action. Through real-life stories of impact—including one man who went from homelessness to helping others—the foundation proves that grassroots efforts, fueled by empathy and urgency, can save lives and inspire others to give back.
In this lively continuation of Philanthropy in Phocus, Tommy D and the No Matter What Foundation co-founders share how creativity, community, and compassion drive their recovery support mission. They talk about "Rockin’ in Recovery," an upcoming May 17th music jam for sober musicians, and highlight how real-time responses, housing, job placements, and sober living partnerships help individuals rebuild their lives. Emphasizing structure and self-accountability, they make it clear: recovery is supported but earned—empowerment without enabling is their foundation’s core.
The No Matter What Foundation shares the success of their grassroots events like their sold-out June 16th golf outing and their 5K fundraiser, which drew over 100 people in the rain—all supporting recovery with joy and community. These events are more than fundraisers—they’re opportunities for connection, celebration, and showing that recovery is possible and powerful. With no salaries taken, a full volunteer board, and a heart-centered mission, this organization proves that when people come together with purpose, lives change—no matter what.
00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:15.360 Tommy DiMisa: My friends at options for community living here on Long Island. They had a comedy show event, and no, I was not on stage telling jokes, but I was in the audience listening to jokes, and it was late. You know. I'm an old man, you know. I'm 47 years old now, I mean, I knew I had to make this trip up to the attic this morning, you know. 2 flights up from the kitchen just below the roof of the house. That's where we do the show in the attic.
00:01:15.460 --> 00:01:45.330 Tommy DiMisa: baby. But I'm a bit raspy, and you know I might need a lozenge or something like that. That's a fun word. Lozenge! All right. Listen! Shout out to options for community living. Yolanda Robino Gross, my very good friend, you and your team did a hell of a job, and I tell you the comedians were funny, but it was late. It was 11 o'clock 1130 last night, and like. I say, I feel like I'm an old man, no matter what foundation in the house today. Very important conversation. I don't bring this out there. I mean. I tell this story, but I don't really
00:01:45.610 --> 00:02:07.320 Tommy DiMisa: come out with it too much as I'm going to be specific right now. September 21st 2010. That's the date. That's the last time I had alcohol in this body. And I I was just looking at the backgrounds and bios of my 2 guests here today, and I don't always use the word recovery. But I will tell you this. I have now been sober, for, as I say, 14, and change going on 15 years, and that is a big deal.
00:02:07.550 --> 00:02:30.099 Tommy DiMisa: And I tell people, yeah, I'm in therapy. I got the Adhd. And you know, and I'm sober. And I do that because we're normalizing a lot of these conversations. Gang hashtag ending the stigma together should be no stigma around. I need help. There should be no stigma around. I'm going to therapy. We all need support at different times. And I say, go after it. Get what you need. We're all going through something. We're all battling through something. This life is not a simple one.
00:02:30.100 --> 00:02:53.549 Tommy DiMisa: So we're going to leave that there for now. But I just encourage you. If that's what you need. If you need help and support, you're gonna see a lot of that in this conversation and hear a lot in this conversation today. So I now am going to introduce to what I will call these guys friends. I hope they want to be friends with me. We'll see. We'll see at 11 o'clock if they still want to be friends. But I'll tell you something. Here's what happened the other day. Every time we do this show, which is every Friday morning 206 Fridays in a row. Something like that
00:02:53.950 --> 00:03:16.460 Tommy DiMisa: every time we do the show. I meet with my guests that week for what's usually I say, hey, listen. It's a 5 to 7 min phone call. And it's really, I just want to kind of prep remind you what this is about. Give you kind of the run of show, and give you the opportunity to ask any questions. Well, that didn't happen this week, I think we spoke for 45 min, and we were really just getting along. I love this story. It's an important story. It is a human story.
00:03:16.460 --> 00:03:26.839 Tommy DiMisa: And I just want to introduce Kevin, Rob and Ken Nicholson, the co-founders of no matter what foundation men. How are you.
00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:29.770 No Matter What: We're great. Thank you for having us. Good morning, Tommy.
00:03:29.770 --> 00:03:44.659 Tommy DiMisa: You are very welcome. I'm I'm really excited to have you guys here. You tricked out in the no matter what gear I we already talked about that in the green room. I I gotta buy both Jesse behind the glass and myself some gear we got. You guys got hats.
00:03:44.660 --> 00:03:46.820 No Matter What: Absolutely. I was wearing one the other day.
00:03:47.060 --> 00:03:56.820 Tommy DiMisa: Got the lids they got the whole thing. Listen. If Tommy D. Loves a hoodie more than anything in life, maybe there's a couple more things I like, but I just love rocking a hoodie even as we go into spring now
00:03:56.910 --> 00:04:25.120 Tommy DiMisa: shorts and a hoodie here on Long Island man flip flops, shorts, and a hoodie, that's really all there is, you know, maybe a hat to block out the sun, and some seven-eleven $20 seven-eleven shades, you know. Now, you guys know everything. So if you want a tummy d starter kit, that's what it would be. Let's get after it, guys. Let's get into it. I'll go into your bios and all that kind of stuff. But what I really just how did you guys connect? And and then we'll get into what the organization's all about, what we're doing together.
00:04:25.470 --> 00:04:50.180 No Matter What: I just, I'm I'm gonna let Kevin talk about that a little bit. But before we get started I just wanted to give a shout out to Gary, Peluso and Doug Tully, they're the other 2 gentlemen that were the founders of the no matter what foundation with us. They're still on our board, and Kevin and I have a little more free time on our hands, so we take care of the majority of the day to day operations.
00:04:50.180 --> 00:04:52.679 Tommy DiMisa: So that's Gary Peluso and Doug Tully.
00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:53.350 No Matter What: Yes.
00:04:53.480 --> 00:05:03.029 Tommy DiMisa: Shout out to Gary and Doug, I look forward to meeting you guys. Maybe you know Ken Nicholson was telling me the other day he's gonna invite me to his golf club, so maybe I'll meet them at your club one day. Wink, wink.
00:05:03.470 --> 00:05:04.350 No Matter What: Would love that.
00:05:04.350 --> 00:05:10.070 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah. If you guys know, then you know what I'm saying. And I'm sure some of the people here in this know exactly what I'm saying.
00:05:10.290 --> 00:05:11.110 No Matter What: Exactly.
00:05:11.520 --> 00:05:12.339 Tommy DiMisa: So let's.
00:05:12.340 --> 00:05:22.860 No Matter What: A little bit about how we got this started. Let's start with telling you what the no matter what foundation is. We're a 5 1 3 c. Non-for-profit, which is dedicated to helping people
00:05:23.520 --> 00:05:26.570 No Matter What: fight their addiction and help them to get into recovery.
00:05:26.780 --> 00:05:29.550 No Matter What: And basically how we started was.
00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:35.959 No Matter What: the 4 of us were sitting actually in this exact office on a Saturday. It was a Saturday afternoon.
00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:43.980 No Matter What: and we were just talking about what we can do to help an individual, maybe 2 individuals.
00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:54.839 No Matter What: And we said, Let's start a gofundme. Let's have a little fundraiser. Maybe we can raise enough money to put somebody into a rehab that doesn't have the money.
00:05:54.840 --> 00:06:02.559 Tommy DiMisa: Stop you just for a sec. So that was so. The challenge that you were sitting around talking about was, folks may want help.
00:06:02.760 --> 00:06:09.949 Tommy DiMisa: They're they're ready to address this situation, Kevin, but what it sounds like there's something there's a gap there.
00:06:09.950 --> 00:06:21.339 No Matter What: There is. So basically. And and yes, it's much more complex. And I'm going to try to explain it. There are 3 types of rehabs. In my opinion, you have ones that
00:06:21.640 --> 00:06:31.419 No Matter What: should be outlawed. They should be legal. They're not doing anything to help people. They're milking the insurance industry. They're milking individuals. They have very little
00:06:31.700 --> 00:06:42.650 No Matter What: care for the recovery aspect they're in for the money, and and some of them, you know, there's a politician right now. That's very big right now in the trouble of
00:06:42.820 --> 00:06:48.010 No Matter What: Trump Cabinet, whose son died in a rehab because they don't care.
00:06:48.030 --> 00:06:57.750 No Matter What: So you have really bad places. Then you have some really good places that accept insurance that accept. You know, Medicaid.
00:06:57.750 --> 00:07:20.769 No Matter What: you know, Medicare Medicaid Medicaid that are good, but people can't get in there, or they can't afford their copay, so they opt not to go. They walk in, and they hear that there's a $50 copay. They walk out the door, or they hear that there's an intake fee. They walk out the door, but they're good, and they take insurance, and they care they're not the nicest in the world.
00:07:20.770 --> 00:07:33.150 Tommy DiMisa: But the thing is too. I mean what it takes somebody to get to that point, to raise their hand and say, I'm ready. I need help. Those of us who've been down this road know there's a lot of there's a lot of stuff.
00:07:33.150 --> 00:07:35.899 No Matter What: Stuff. It's generally somebody telling you.
00:07:35.900 --> 00:07:36.870 Tommy DiMisa: But say that again.
00:07:36.870 --> 00:07:40.759 No Matter What: It's usually somebody telling you you're ready. And then, like, you know
00:07:41.140 --> 00:07:53.470 No Matter What: me, for example, I wasn't ready. I was told I was ready, and by the time you know, the miracle happens that you're there, and you stay long enough, and then you realize your life is better. But there are people that
00:07:53.640 --> 00:08:08.309 No Matter What: are just at Rock Bottom that know. If they don't do this now they are going to die. They are going to lose their family. They're going to lose. You know their children. Some of them might have legal issues. Some of them might have, you know, no job.
00:08:08.490 --> 00:08:16.939 No Matter What: and there are people that are just fed up, of being fed up, or sick and tired of being sick and tired, and they finally say it's time to help.
00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:27.079 No Matter What: so that that goes back to that, that that middle echelons of of rehabs that are very good, and then you have, of course, lifestyles of the rich and famous
00:08:27.290 --> 00:08:37.859 No Matter What: can cost you $80,000 for a 30 day program that unless you have the resources you can't go to. And and some of them are very good. I'm not saying they're not good. They're just very expensive.
00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:43.000 No Matter What: So you have somebody that's coming in that wants to get sober. What are their choices?
00:08:43.500 --> 00:08:45.169 No Matter What: Go to? The bad rehabs
00:08:45.370 --> 00:08:51.769 No Matter What: go to the ones that are going to hurt you and not help you, because that's what will take them, because they don't care.
00:08:51.990 --> 00:09:20.749 No Matter What: Tell him about your nephew. So so, my nephew is a perfect example. He was in one of those rehabs, and they milked. His father does well, and he had good insurance, and they milked the insurance for ridiculous amounts of money. At 28 days they drove him and dropped him off in front of the hotel where he could buy heroin, and they picked him up 24 h later, and they put him in for another 30 days, and then in 30 days they dropped him off again and not just him. This happens with tons of people, and
00:09:20.860 --> 00:09:26.129 No Matter What: they just it's a cycle. They they milk the insurance companies for everything they get.
00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:28.909 No Matter What: They don't focus on the recovery aspect.
00:09:29.210 --> 00:09:37.370 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, they it! It sounds like. And I think this is what you're saying. And I'm just gonna call what I'm seeing. They don't care they don't. This is this is a business to these these people.
00:09:37.370 --> 00:09:37.760 No Matter What: Yes.
00:09:37.760 --> 00:09:50.890 Tommy DiMisa: This is not about helping human beings. This is, we know that we can drop them back off. We'll pick them back up. It's good for business. It's terrible for human beings, right? And then is your nephew. Can we ask about your nephew? Is is he or.
00:09:50.890 --> 00:10:08.269 No Matter What: He passed away of an overdose. So you know there is no listen, there's only 3 things that happen. You either finally get recovered. You die, you go to jail, you know. I don't think there's any other option, you know, when it comes to that, and and
00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:14.660 No Matter What: one out of 10 families in the United States have lost somebody to substance, abuse one out of 10,
00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:19.599 No Matter What: one out of 3 have somebody with a substance abuse problem.
00:10:19.970 --> 00:10:29.679 No Matter What: So if you're talking to 3 people, there's chances are one of them. Somebody in their family, a friend, a club, a loved one, is suffering from some type of drug or alcohol issue.
00:10:29.830 --> 00:10:32.210 Tommy DiMisa: It is, it is more.
00:10:32.760 --> 00:10:34.310 No Matter What: There, then it's not.
00:10:34.580 --> 00:10:42.150 No Matter What: People may not talk about it. There's a stigma behind it. People don't like to say Oh, yes, you know my son's an alcoholic, but it's there.
00:10:42.490 --> 00:10:53.010 No Matter What: you know. If you if God forbid somebody had cancer, the 1st thing they say is, oh, he's he's he has cancer. He's getting treatment. But they're not going to say he has a drug or alcohol problem, and he needs treatment.
00:10:53.010 --> 00:11:07.060 Tommy DiMisa: It goes. Yeah, it goes to the same thing that I continue to talk about. And I discussed with you guys a bit, you know about ending the stigma, as it relates to mental health and serious and persistent mental illness. And I say this all the time with no clinical background. I say this, that if if
00:11:07.210 --> 00:11:09.959 Tommy DiMisa: substance abuse, disorder, and and
00:11:10.542 --> 00:11:24.909 Tommy DiMisa: and mental health challenges are not siblings, well, they're cousins and their 1st cousins, you know, I mean, and because I it's it's so concurrent is maybe that's the right word. They run together, you know, in a lot of cases. And
00:11:25.160 --> 00:11:49.340 Tommy DiMisa: you know, I started the other show. I do hashtag ending the stigma together, and that's that started to be about serious and persistent mental illness, and what I call general mental health. But honestly, now, it's about living with HIV and Aids. Now, it's about alcohol and substance abuse. It just keeps running the gamut, because, as humans, there's so much stigma or so many stigmas. I'm not sure I don't know the grammar on that. The point is, it hits a lot of things. It's not just that.
00:11:49.470 --> 00:11:52.852 Tommy DiMisa: So you know the thing that that kind of I had
00:11:53.290 --> 00:11:59.280 Tommy DiMisa: Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds on a couple shows I did recently from Family and Children's Association, Fca. Out here in Long Island.
00:11:59.350 --> 00:12:27.729 Tommy DiMisa: and you know the thing we were talking about is how ubiquitous the ads are for alcohol, you know, beer and whatnot and things like that. And also I got a whole other thing about, you know, gambling and stuff, and how ubiquitous that is, I can't watch. Let's go mets. I can't watch the Mets game with my kid without my kid saying to me, Look, you know, draftkings is going to throw us 500 bucks. I got my 14 year old, son. I've been down that gambling road. I grew up in the bar business guys. I did a lot of things, you know, and
00:12:27.730 --> 00:12:51.129 Tommy DiMisa: watching my 14 year old think that that's going to be. The move is that draftkings is going to give us 400 $500. That's a whole nother thing where? But the alcohol thing is so ubiquitous, and it's so socially acceptable. And you know it's and it's in a lot of cases, and I know we're not just talking about alcohol, but alcohol is worse than a lot of these things, because it's like, Hey, man, you go out, you have a couple pops. That's what we do. It's that part of it. I grew up doing it, you know.
00:12:51.456 --> 00:12:56.960 Tommy DiMisa: That's more of a statement, guys, and I don't even have a question about it. It's just something. Ken. What do you have on that? I see you.
00:12:57.130 --> 00:13:08.170 No Matter What: So, Tommy, I want. I my sober date is February 8, th 1995. I just celebrated 30 years and I've been in the recovery field.
00:13:08.340 --> 00:13:16.600 No Matter What: working as a clinician since 1995, and I say it all the time. I I have yet to find a client who woke up one morning and went.
00:13:17.210 --> 00:13:34.069 No Matter What: Yup, today's the day I'm getting sober. That's not the way it works right. It's usually our spouse, our health, the law, our job. It's somebody on the outside, like Kevin was saying, tells us we need to get sober. The trick in recovery.
00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:49.109 No Matter What: The recovery field is to take that external motivator, the thing on the outside that motivates us into recovery, turn that into an internal motivator, so that by the time the client's ready to leave treatment. They see the benefit of recovery, and they want to be sober.
00:13:49.350 --> 00:13:51.580 No Matter What: Right. That being said.
00:13:51.770 --> 00:14:07.469 No Matter What: we got to strike while the iron's hot, and one of the obstacles a lot of people face like they've made the decision. I'm ready. I'm going to do it. Where can I go now? They start running into insurance problems, and even people with insurance sometimes still have
00:14:07.570 --> 00:14:12.920 No Matter What: additional co-pays that are expensive costs that are prohibitive to them.
00:14:13.210 --> 00:14:27.920 No Matter What: The no matter what foundation. We do not send a client to a treatment facility that we have not went to ourselves, or that we are not familiar with. I just I just like. I want to give a shout out to a couple of people
00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:44.010 No Matter What: inpatient seafield. Licr, that's where we like to send our clients. They do a fantastic job we have. We've referred over a hundred people into treatment. We don't help pay for all of it at times, but we've kind of
00:14:44.020 --> 00:15:05.970 No Matter What: this wasn't part of our original plan. But we've kind of become like a referral agency. We've referred people to the Karen Foundation, which we can't afford to pay for somebody to go to Karen. It's way too expensive, but we don't. We know they do good work there, so we don't mind referring people who come to us for help and have the means. We don't mind referring them to a place like that
00:15:07.227 --> 00:15:16.489 No Matter What: Kpc. For outpatient transformation house and integrity for for sober housing right? We
00:15:16.590 --> 00:15:37.350 No Matter What: we will not send anybody who comes to us for help to a place that we have not vetted on our own, that we are not comfortable with that that we don't know if they do the right thing or not. And we have met. I got to tell you some angels doing this work. Some people whose hearts are in the right place.
00:15:37.950 --> 00:15:46.429 No Matter What: right could you give them a little? Could you tell them a little bit about family. Bagel. Yeah, wait. I just want to go back to something you you said about the mental illness.
00:15:46.680 --> 00:16:16.319 No Matter What: Not every rehab is the same. You don't wake up and say, Oh, here's a rehab. I'm going to go here and get sober. They all have. Almost some of them have, like a real specialty niche like, we have some that really focus on mental illness. We have some that focus on 1st responders we have some that focus on. If you're a doctor or a nurse in the medical field. So really depending, everybody's situation is different. And the one thing I learned when I was in school was, you have to meet the patient where they're at and sometimes
00:16:16.410 --> 00:16:42.170 No Matter What: going to. Let's say she field is not the right program. Licr is for a couple different factors. And that's what we've really been focusing on. We have some rehabs that are really good on mental illness, water gap, wellness, water gap wellness. Karen has a great facility in Florida, that wet brain which is a which is a condition that happens when you drink too much and it becomes a neurological. They have a great area for that.
00:16:42.638 --> 00:17:08.419 No Matter What: Marth is another great one they work with, you know, 1st responders, and it really depends on where you're going and what your personal needs are. And that's what we really try to get a handle on. Some take Medicaid or some take Blue Cross blue shield. So we have to look at all the parameters and help them choose the right place. We don't tell them where to go. That's not our job.
00:17:08.530 --> 00:17:13.799 Tommy DiMisa: I gotta jump in because we'll take a quick break. But I want to do this. Ken keep you write a note on what you want it, because I know ken you got something.
00:17:13.800 --> 00:17:14.220 No Matter What: Yeah.
00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:17.090 Tommy DiMisa: Want to be mindful of what couple things. So
00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:27.959 Tommy DiMisa: we're gonna go to break in a second. But I want to say what a word that's coming up for me, guys, is navigation or navigator, and I'm hearing that in my my soul that that's what you help folks do before we go
00:17:28.130 --> 00:17:36.439 Tommy DiMisa: total break, though, because this could be somebody's finding this for the 1st time. This could be a critical point in their lives. Who do they call if they want to connect with the foundation, and they need support.
00:17:36.690 --> 00:17:49.360 No Matter What: They if you go into our website, www, dot Nmw dash foundation.org. There is a link to contact us. There's an application for scholarships.
00:17:49.870 --> 00:17:58.569 No Matter What: Address phone number all on on the link. They can call anytime like what Kenny said. You have to strike while the calls are hot. It was last night.
00:18:00.590 --> 00:18:01.820 No Matter What: Are we on? Are we on? Break.
00:18:01.820 --> 00:18:03.540 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, we're good. We're still going. I'm sharing the web.
00:18:03.540 --> 00:18:22.849 No Matter What: You know we Kenny called me the 2 nights ago, at 8 o'clock at night. We have somebody we need to get in. So what we do is we get them in right then and there. We have the personal cell phone numbers of all the heads of these places, and we can make arrangements at any time of the night to get them either picked up, set up, or organized. We don't say wait till tomorrow morning.
00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:36.739 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, because a lot of times it might not be a tomorrow morning, whether not not just at a tragedy. But the decision might have gone away, I was ready, and now I'm not. You know what I'm I'm through that, and I'm I'm back to. I got my drink or I got my drug, and I don't need you guys no more. Right.
00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:48.689 No Matter What: And this one person I was just talking about. We had it set up to pick him up 1st thing in the morning, and he didn't answer his phone, and we panicked because we said, all right. He went out. Maybe he didn't go out. We didn't know, and then he called. He goes. Oh, no, I'm ready. My phone was on silent.
00:18:48.690 --> 00:18:49.770 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, my God, yeah.
00:18:49.770 --> 00:18:52.260 No Matter What: There are people that when you go to pick them up they're not there.
00:18:52.260 --> 00:18:52.680 Tommy DiMisa: You're not.
00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:54.790 No Matter What: They woke up and they said, Wait, I'm not doing this.
00:18:54.790 --> 00:19:24.529 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, right? Because you know what? Because, like, I said earlier in the program, it took so much to get to that point, whether it's Rock bottom, or a family member, or something pushing that you know what it did it for me, having an 11 month old daughter with a wife who was pregnant with my son. You talk external, Kenny. That was the external in my, you know, being at a family event. When your wife goes, Tommy, get out of the way. I don't even ever share this up. Get out of the way! I'll pick up the kid. That's when you go, holy cow. And I didn't say cow. That's when things click.
00:19:24.530 --> 00:19:25.110 No Matter What: Thank you.
00:19:25.110 --> 00:19:29.959 Tommy DiMisa: Realize as a 32 year old man and a father almost of 2.
00:19:30.460 --> 00:19:56.130 Tommy DiMisa: That's when you realize gang. So there's a point where you all hit. Not everybody hits this point. But if you need the support again, the website is Nmw. Dash foundation.org. I will share the website while we go to break, Kevin said, you go right to the contact Us section. And there's a phone number where you call them. There's an email, and they will reach right back out to you, gents. We got a lot to talk about. We got to take a quick break, a lot of storytelling. We're going to get into today. I got to be honest.
00:19:56.450 --> 00:20:10.989 Tommy DiMisa: I feel so connected to the work you're doing. I love all my friends in the nonprofit space. I do. Just this is very. It's very close to home for me. For a lot of ways. I appreciate what you're doing. I'm getting emotional. We got to go to a break. You can't see them, but they can't know I'm sensitive. We got to go to a break.
00:20:12.120 --> 00:20:14.609 Tommy DiMisa: We'll be right back, guys. Let's go to break.
00:21:55.310 --> 00:22:15.080 Tommy DiMisa: Right, cut through the static baby. Join me in the attic. Join me in the attic. If you're one of my 4 children, and you're listening. Do not join me in the attic right now. Everybody's home. It is Good Friday, you know, Easter this week, Passover, this week. Happy holidays to everybody I'm reaching out to my kids. Don't join me in the attic. Actually be quiet. I'm trying to do some shows here today. Gang. We're here. How about that song. Have you guys ever heard that song before?
00:22:15.080 --> 00:22:17.389 Tommy DiMisa: We were trying to dance a little?
00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:36.070 Tommy DiMisa: That is my friend Brendan Levy from the Queens Chamber of Commerce Lead, singer of damaged goods. We'll all go out and see them. One night they used to be called the goods, and actually, maybe I'll do a show for you guys, for raise some money or something like that for the organization. They used to be called the goods, but now they're old men. They call themselves damaged goods. So you know.
00:22:36.070 --> 00:22:37.370 Tommy DiMisa: we all a little damaged.
00:22:37.370 --> 00:22:49.529 Tommy DiMisa: We all are damaged, which makes us fun. You know the organization that no matter what foundation. 501 c. 3. Nonprofit organization, committing to helping individuals and families affected by substance, use, disorder, find hope.
00:22:49.670 --> 00:23:18.129 Tommy DiMisa: healing, and lasting recovery based in Long Island. We offer scholarships for sober living treatment and supportive services to those who need it most. Regardless of their financial situation. You're sitting around that office the 4 of you guys you have. You got Gary, Doug, Kenny, and Kevin? And you said, Man, you know, if we can find a way to help one person handful people right? Maybe half a dozen. How many people have been impacted by this organization.
00:23:18.270 --> 00:23:28.129 No Matter What: We've put probably well, over a hundred people in the last year into treatment. We probably on the scholarship, have had
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:42.789 No Matter What: in and out 50 people in the last year, and sober living right now. We have close to 30 people on scholarships of some of some type in a sober living home right now, and there's a few people in treatment under some type of scholarship with us.
00:23:42.790 --> 00:23:54.209 Tommy DiMisa: What if you guys didn't have that Saturday afternoon conversation like this? I believe that we really have to analyze these things in life. What if you didn't, what would the trajectory lives literally would have been.
00:23:54.210 --> 00:23:59.239 No Matter What: Yeah, I'll give you a perfect story for that. So this gentleman who we helped
00:23:59.750 --> 00:24:10.450 No Matter What: it was one of the 1st people we got into sober housing, if not the 1st person. He was literally living in the woods. Last year he was living in the woods for over a year and a half
00:24:10.760 --> 00:24:13.793 No Matter What: doing heroin and whatever else he was doing. And
00:24:14.300 --> 00:24:23.419 No Matter What: he calls me the other night, and he says, this guy I went to rehab with needs to get sober. He needs to get into a rehab. He doesn't have insurance. So we
00:24:24.120 --> 00:24:46.249 No Matter What: the whole night I'm wheeling and dealing, trying to get him into insurance. We get him to a place called Talbot House. That's like a waste station, and Talbot House finds out he actually does have insurance. He has Medicaid, so we call our friends at Seafield, and our friends at Seafield get him in. So I call this guy Chris back to let him know we got the guy into treatment
00:24:46.600 --> 00:24:49.609 No Matter What: is the guy, Kenny? Chris is the guy that was living in the woods. Chris is
00:24:49.610 --> 00:24:51.140 No Matter What: the guy that was living in the room tonight.
00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:58.190 Tommy DiMisa: Got sober got clean. You you guys help that now he's just no contact. So I get this. He's paying it forward.
00:24:58.970 --> 00:25:23.589 No Matter What: So I call him back to let him know that we got the guy into rehab, and he says to me, Kenny, and then the phone goes silent for like 20 seconds. And I'm like, Did I? Did I lose you? I'm saying, did I lose you? He got so caught up he couldn't speak, you know, and then he gets all tearful, and he goes. A year. Less than a year ago I was living in the woods.
00:25:23.800 --> 00:25:28.520 No Matter What: He's like, I'm not being dramatic. You guys saved my life.
00:25:28.750 --> 00:25:53.289 No Matter What: I will do anything I can do to help this organization anything. Our 5 K. It was pouring rain the day of our 5 K. He was there helping us out, you know, at our golf outing this year we're going to honor the guy who runs Transformation House. He's going to give him the award, you know. There's a ripple effect to recovery. So you throw that one rock and it ripples out like
00:25:53.290 --> 00:26:18.475 No Matter What: I helped Kevin 11 years ago. You know this guy is a button manufacturer. That's what he does for a living. He knows more about insurance, probably, than me at this point, because he went to school this year, you know, literally and figuratively, he literally went to school and got his Ksac T. But figuratively, he's learned because he he had to learn. Tell people, you know. And
00:26:18.850 --> 00:26:31.630 No Matter What: it's amazing the stuff Doug is doing in the labor field. He's getting guys that are in labor and getting them in sober houses. And and Gary is doing behind the scenes. Stuff! It's tremendous. It's just.
00:26:31.630 --> 00:26:52.259 Tommy DiMisa: I love that ripple effect, Kenny. I talk about all the time, brother, I talk about when that you throw that stone, I believe, and I truly believe this not not fodder. I believe that that ripples infinite because this gentleman you mentioned you said his name, Chris, you know, and now he impacts the life of this other person. How many lives do we impact? Part of this pisses me off honestly, because, like
00:26:52.260 --> 00:27:11.999 Tommy DiMisa: this is what we're supposed to do to other human beings is compassion and love and reach that arm out. And I find in a lot of cases doesn't happen. It's 4 guys like you that have to make change, you know, and have to be. It isn't just the 4 of you, I understand that. And there's hundreds of volunteers and all people that support your organization and all the other organizations on Long Island.
00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:38.960 Tommy DiMisa: But it is anybody can be a change maker and can sit in this office like you're in and go. What can we do better? Well, how can we help people? What's the problem? I'm saying that to my 2 guests, but I'm saying that to everybody else, too. Gang. You want to be a change maker. You want to make the world your community, your neighborhood, your freaking home a better place. Do me a favor, do you a favor? Do everybody just do that thing, whatever that thing is. You want to go volunteer at the pantry, go volunteer at the pantry. You want to create a pantry.
00:27:39.050 --> 00:27:47.689 Tommy DiMisa: Go create a pantry. I mean, like that is the power that we have to create change and make the world a better place. Kevin. Kenny, what do you got on that.
00:27:47.690 --> 00:27:52.350 No Matter What: So you know the the ripple effect. Penny and I were at a luncheon last
00:27:52.880 --> 00:28:03.589 No Matter What: Thursday. I think it was for Kenneth Peter Centers. It was a 30th anniversary, and Claudia Ragni who who runs it? She's the head of Kpc. It was her like.
00:28:03.590 --> 00:28:08.429 Tommy DiMisa: Was that? Was that the place in her name? Who was the woman that you brought with with you to the.
00:28:08.430 --> 00:28:09.839 No Matter What: Yes, that's exactly who you met.
00:28:09.840 --> 00:28:11.170 No Matter What: Yeah, right?
00:28:11.170 --> 00:28:15.950 No Matter What: So she's she's on our board. She's on our advisory board, and and she's
00:28:16.430 --> 00:28:32.000 No Matter What: she. She's 1 of the most remarkable people we honored her last year at our 1st golf outing, but at this anniversary, her 30 year anniversary she talked about how she? Well, she, Kpc. Got 40,000 people came into the store for treatment.
00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:37.580 No Matter What: Out of that 40,000. You can only imagine the lives that have been changed
00:28:38.050 --> 00:28:50.310 No Matter What: children, parents, friends, loved ones. It's it's you can't even comprehend the amount of people. And out of that somebody like me, you know, I probably
00:28:50.960 --> 00:29:07.950 No Matter What: 2530 people through just Kpc before we started, no matter what. So you take that 40,000, and you can can't even imagine how many lives would change by that 40,000 millions literally like I was joking. I said we could even get him into metlife stadium. We need 10 of them. Yeah, you know.
00:29:07.950 --> 00:29:34.929 Tommy DiMisa: It's true, and that's how far the ripple goes. Can he slip that in, and millions because it does go on forever? Because, you know the gentleman you mentioned, who was living in the woods, and all the best to him, and I you know I hope I meet him. I love to give him a hug, and just the stuff that you all are doing. Last night. I didn't even get to say this yet before I went to the options for community living event. I met bikers against child abuse. We met out in Selden. We met at the Texas roadhouse parking lot me and these 4 guys. I don't know if you know these guys from bikers for bike. Excuse me.
00:29:34.980 --> 00:29:55.580 Tommy DiMisa: Baca, Bac, a bikers against child abuse. It's coming up for me now. So I feel like I got to say it, just the impact that these men and women are doing in that organization gang. It is a beautiful world. There are beautiful people doing really, really special things. Look for it. You want to see the crap in the world. Trust me, it's there. Go find it if you want, but you want to see the good in the world. It's there, too.
00:29:55.580 --> 00:30:08.720 No Matter What: I mean, you're one of those people, too, just the the web you have and the people you're gonna be able to put us in touch with. And it it's it's life changing for a lot of people, not just people in recovery. So thank you for it.
00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:10.080 Tommy DiMisa: Kenny, and thanks for saying that.
00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:11.599 No Matter What: And what's the issue?
00:30:11.600 --> 00:30:14.530 Tommy DiMisa: I've been getting better. Yes, yeah, go ahead, Kevin.
00:30:14.530 --> 00:30:26.429 No Matter What: What's interesting is, you know we don't. We don't advertise. You know, we have pamphlets. We, you know, we put stuff on Facebook, our phone rings. I don't think there's a day that goes by that we don't get a call from somebody.
00:30:26.570 --> 00:30:28.230 No Matter What: How they got to us
00:30:28.450 --> 00:30:46.229 No Matter What: I have no idea. Seafield. Well, Bridge? Oh, oh, yeah. So yeah, we we have somebody that called us and said, We need. I need to get into Detox. Kenny's like, all right. We got him, and we're like, Can you be here in 20 min? They go. Why, we go. We're going to drive you. We're actually going there on a meeting.
00:30:46.340 --> 00:30:49.990 No Matter What: and we drove them out to Wellbridge, and this person sold it still.
00:30:50.290 --> 00:30:58.920 No Matter What: you know. So it's and then on the way home that day, oh, yeah. So we're driving there. And we get a call. Somebody needs to get into rehab. Okay? Boom, boom, they get a
00:30:59.050 --> 00:31:10.429 No Matter What: done picked up. We're leaving. We get another call. My cell phone rings. It's somebody else hang up. Kenny gets a call, somebody else. Then somebody in my family called me and said, hey?
00:31:10.700 --> 00:31:23.689 No Matter What: So and so, who's a friend of mine's niece is in trouble, and and this is how Kenny and I get along. Great! I said. Let me put my cape back on, and he goes. Stop, put your ego in check. It's not about your cape, and you know so, but.
00:31:23.690 --> 00:31:24.880 Tommy DiMisa: Being cute about it, but.
00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:25.400 No Matter What: Right.
00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:26.860 Tommy DiMisa: But he's gonna tell you don't even go there.
00:31:26.860 --> 00:31:28.870 No Matter What: Yeah, don't forget where you're coming from. Keep it and.
00:31:28.870 --> 00:31:29.190 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.
00:31:29.190 --> 00:31:52.770 No Matter What: And we got 4 people on that car ride out to West Hampton in 6 h, so not a day goes by, and it comes from people we have helped. It comes from friends of people we have helped. This comes from family members of people that met Gary at a pickleball match, or met Claudia or Regina. You know our board is very diversified. We have
00:31:52.810 --> 00:32:11.970 No Matter What: 3 or 4 Ksachs which are licensed addiction therapists. We have the ex-senate majority chair. John Flanagan. We have the the Da of Freeport is Robert Laughlin. You know we we have a diverse group of people. And because of these people. We're finding other people.
00:32:11.970 --> 00:32:19.449 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah. Yeah. So I'm showing your board of directors and things like that gang again. Go to NMW. Dash foundation.
00:32:19.840 --> 00:32:29.849 Tommy DiMisa: Nmw, dash foundation.org.org, and you'll see the board and the executive team things like that. This is a full volunteer organization, right? Guys, I mean, that's what.
00:32:29.850 --> 00:32:40.369 No Matter What: We. We take no salary, no management fee. You know. We don't say we give a hundred percent back because, you know, we have accountants and list, but we do not take anything for ourselves.
00:32:40.370 --> 00:32:41.069 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, yeah.
00:32:41.070 --> 00:32:51.989 No Matter What: 0. And there are other organizations out there that that take, you know, 50% in salary, or, you know, 20% in rent. You know, we're going back and forth because we don't have an office.
00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:54.480 No Matter What: and we need one. And we're like.
00:32:54.890 --> 00:32:57.979 No Matter What: you know, we look at it in $500 intervals, you know.
00:32:58.940 --> 00:33:07.340 No Matter What: to somebody for 500 a month for sober living, and we spend that on rent. We can't. We might lose a life, and we can't do it. We're too obsessed with.
00:33:07.340 --> 00:33:08.540 Tommy DiMisa: So let me talk about that.
00:33:09.540 --> 00:33:16.859 Tommy DiMisa: Let me so that $500 figure we talked about the other day. That $500 figure is is like, what does that represent? It's a day in sober living.
00:33:17.165 --> 00:33:18.999 No Matter What: It's a month and sober living
00:33:19.840 --> 00:33:26.430 No Matter What: month. We, the houses that we work with the majority of them, are approximately 800 a month, let's say.
00:33:27.100 --> 00:33:29.990 No Matter What: and they give us a price of 500,
00:33:30.250 --> 00:33:58.950 No Matter What: and that's how we're getting people sober for a month, or we take that 500, and we amortize it and help pay for the deductibles, the co-pays, the the, you know we've made deals with different people for Iop, which is intensive, outpatient. It's kind of the same thing as being in rehab, but you can either live home or in sober living house. You come 3 days a week, 4 days a week, and you get, you know it's probably one of the most crucial keys to getting sober. In my opinion.
00:33:58.950 --> 00:34:26.640 Tommy DiMisa: Hold that thought, because here's what we're going to do. We got to go to a break, but when I come back I want we come back. I want you to do this. I want you to go from. Somebody calls up and says I need help, and they, whatever that looks or where they go, they go to rehab. Then we talk about sober living. We talk about the different options. I want to talk about that journey right? So you guys can both. And, by the way, when he keeps saying he went to school, we got a chuckle out of this the other day because I watched as I respond. This is something, Kevin, said Kenny. I think you remember this.
00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:29.939 Tommy DiMisa: I he goes. Yeah. So I went back and I got my case I gotta go. Of course he did.
00:34:30.949 --> 00:34:31.590 No Matter What: Yeah.
00:34:31.590 --> 00:34:37.030 Tommy DiMisa: Because the guy wants to help is he's he's a button guy, that's what he. I don't even know what that means. Still, yet we'll talk about that.
00:34:38.320 --> 00:35:03.289 Tommy DiMisa: He's in the button trade, and you know his buttons were on. I think the masters jackets I heard. I don't know if I was supposed to put that out there, but I just did. It's out there now. But, Kevin, he goes back to school, you know, to to learn the craft and the trade of what this work is, because he's that passionate about doing this work. So I'm rambling when I try to go to break. I can't even let myself go to break guys. But we talked about
00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:29.449 Tommy DiMisa: of my brain type. All right. So we'll we'll take. We come back. Phone call comes in you get somebody to rehab right. That's where we're going to start there, and we'll walk through the trajectory they meet with you guys and how that all works out. The show is called philanthropy and focus. The organization is the no matter what foundation, because, no matter what the world can be a beautiful place, and we can help people. If you lean in and do the work, we'll be right back philanthropy and focus.
00:37:02.370 --> 00:37:30.770 Tommy DiMisa: I dig music guys and I dig all sorts of music, you know. And I think that tune needs to be updated. I was telling Uncle Brendan, Uncle Brendan Levy. I'm very into Reggae music, and I think we need like a Reggae Island Vibe and a couple of these other shows that I do. We have the island vibe when we start those shows. So, Uncle Brendan, if you're out there, we need to change the music. We need to write some new tunes. I love that song, but 206 episodes in. We might need to make a change gang.
00:37:31.221 --> 00:37:35.290 No Matter What: May 17, th at Kpc. We're doing rocking in recovery.
00:37:35.290 --> 00:37:36.570 Tommy DiMisa: What's that about? Tell us about that.
00:37:36.570 --> 00:37:47.879 No Matter What: So if you play an instrument, or if you're trying to play an instrument, or if your voice is your instrument, come on down May 17.th And we're gonna get a bunch of sober musicians here, and we're just gonna jam out.
00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:53.940 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, I love that man! Where is that? Just? The event is just a a like a concert is open mic like, what is that?
00:37:53.940 --> 00:37:59.800 No Matter What: It's like, you know, we're. It's the 1st time we're doing it. We're just gonna kind of bring instruments and see where it goes.
00:37:59.800 --> 00:38:04.490 Tommy DiMisa: Oh, my God, I love that! That's the creative stuff. Right? There, man, stuff just happens. All right. So you guys.
00:38:04.490 --> 00:38:06.640 No Matter What: I'm the Supervisor, because I have no talent.
00:38:06.640 --> 00:38:15.549 Tommy DiMisa: Well, let me tell you something. I was gonna ask you that. Actually, Kevin, here's a question for you, my go to right, my go to if I'm at the Karaoke
00:38:15.690 --> 00:38:41.350 Tommy DiMisa: and at my go to sometimes in my kitchen is roadhouse blues by the doors, man, and I just rock out. I end up it gets a little. It's a little wild, so I don't know if I'm really good singer, because some people stay in the room. Some people leave the room when I start to sing, but sometimes I just break out into song like that. You know, it just happens gang. But maybe I can get my friend Brendan Levy and the crew to come through. I also, guys I'm having.
00:38:41.350 --> 00:38:51.480 Tommy DiMisa: It might sound in. It might sound a little weird on on this conversation, but I'm doing a wine tasting at North Shore TV. I know what the guy's sober.
00:38:52.250 --> 00:39:06.169 Tommy DiMisa: I won't be tasting any wine, but I have friends who will be. But why have these 3 guys? It's well, there's 4 guys in the band. This is when you gotta love it. They're called the time traveling trio. But they have 4 members. So I love when that stuff happens, because that doesn't.
00:39:06.490 --> 00:39:15.729 Tommy DiMisa: that's perfect. But these guys go around the island and we'll we'll hook you up there. Actually, one of them is a creative director at the Spirit of Huntington Art Center, where I'm on the board.
00:39:16.100 --> 00:39:31.359 Tommy DiMisa: James young shout out to James Young, he's coming on Long Island changemakers in a couple weeks, and the reason he's coming on the show changemakers to tell the story about spirit of Huntington. But the time traveling trio they do concerts where they give back to nonprofits, so maybe we'll have to not maybe.
00:39:31.360 --> 00:39:39.020 No Matter What: Love that. Tell him about the guitarist at the golf outing last year? Yeah. So last year we were introduced to a guitar player.
00:39:39.470 --> 00:39:47.249 No Matter What: Who came and played at our golf outing during the cocktail hour. Guy was phenomenal, James Fleming, he, Courtney Fleming. He was phenomenal.
00:39:47.750 --> 00:39:55.389 No Matter What: About 2 weeks later I get a call from this guy at Transformation House, who we never met before. It was the middle of the night. He sent me a text. He's like.
00:39:55.500 --> 00:40:00.550 No Matter What: I was flipping through Facebook. And I saw a picture of Courtney playing. What do you guys do?
00:40:01.110 --> 00:40:08.330 No Matter What: I run a sober house? I got somebody who's down and out has nothing, and we end up taking on that person you talk about ripple effect.
00:40:08.330 --> 00:40:24.050 Tommy DiMisa: Of course, 100%. What happens if Courtney Flanagan is not playing at your event and they don't see it on Facebook, right? That's the stuff. That's why you got to play the game. You've got to be in it every day. What happens? You get a phone call. You get an email this afternoon at noon. What happens? Tell me.
00:40:24.050 --> 00:40:40.119 No Matter What: Basically. Well, you know, we don't recommend particular, you know. You know, rehabs, we'll we'll play out the situation and find where he belongs, or she belongs and recommend like let's call it Seafield Lsu. Well, Bridge, or you know Water Gap.
00:40:40.360 --> 00:40:41.759 No Matter What: they go into rehab.
00:40:41.970 --> 00:40:47.080 No Matter What: The most important thing about Rehab is on day 30 when you leave.
00:40:47.200 --> 00:40:54.290 No Matter What: because you're in rehab, you're in a controlled environment. You're you're getting the help you need. But you have to leave and go into the real world.
00:40:54.430 --> 00:41:05.790 No Matter What: So basically, the continue of care would be the next step. To have the highest success rate is to go into an Iop, which is an intensive outpatient which I described before.
00:41:05.790 --> 00:41:30.669 Tommy DiMisa: Let me ask you this. I know where you're going. I want to ask you. So I I do my 30 days right, and I've been supported, and I go to meetings, and I have community of people who are experiencing similar things. And we're all there together. And now I go back to the quote, unquote, real world, where all the temptation is there the support that I had is not there left to my own devices.
00:41:31.080 --> 00:41:44.037 Tommy DiMisa: Things can happen right? So that to me sounds like a recipe for a hell of a challenge, if if nothing else. Right that but you're. And so you're saying we need barrier
00:41:44.430 --> 00:41:45.410 No Matter What: Continue of care.
00:41:45.410 --> 00:41:49.220 Tommy DiMisa: Need that continuum of care to help this person stay on track, correct.
00:41:49.220 --> 00:42:03.500 No Matter What: I don't think there's a rehab, an inpatient facility we work with that will let somebody leave without having this Iop in place before they leave. Do they all go? No.
00:42:03.860 --> 00:42:14.569 No Matter What: the smart ones will go. You can't make them go, but they will have it set up for them. This is where you should go. Seafield has their own outpatients.
00:42:14.570 --> 00:42:38.429 Tommy DiMisa: Which is why, from the earlier part of this conversation is why you choose your partners, so to speak, where folks go, because you know their continuum of care is in their DNA of what the organization they're going to almost require it right? But and that's why you send folks to these places for the isn't gonna isn't going to put value on that continuum of care. They're not really doing the work right. No.
00:42:38.640 --> 00:42:48.269 No Matter What: We have somebody right now in Wellbridge that getting got discharged yesterday, and the the clinician for Wellbridge called me and said, Well, you know he's leaving on Thursday.
00:42:48.850 --> 00:43:00.190 No Matter What: What are you thinking? What do you think is the best option for Iop? And we went through a couple of the places the pros and the cons, and you know it's up to the person to choose. He chose one.
00:43:00.320 --> 00:43:03.529 No Matter What: and he's going would have been the one I chose. Probably not.
00:43:03.670 --> 00:43:10.640 No Matter What: But you know what. Something's better than nothing. And he's actually he got discharged. Friday. He starts, I think, today or Monday.
00:43:11.030 --> 00:43:14.779 Tommy DiMisa: What is give me that acronym! What is Iop? Stand for again.
00:43:14.780 --> 00:43:16.280 No Matter What: Intensive, outpatient.
00:43:16.280 --> 00:43:19.580 Tommy DiMisa: Okay, what is sober living, Kenny? What's sober living.
00:43:19.830 --> 00:43:22.000 No Matter What: Sober living is we got.
00:43:22.180 --> 00:43:48.530 No Matter What: So we have. Transformation house is one of our sober houses, transformation houses, independent. Right? So they they just do sober housing. Jared and his partner. He has a partner. They do sober housing. They have 2 sober houses currently. I think they're looking at a 3, rd then we have other sober houses like integrity, has sober houses. They also have iop seafield
00:43:48.530 --> 00:44:05.819 No Matter What: has the whole continuum of care inpatient iop sober living. So there's a whole bunch of different sober living places. But when we go to check out the sober living place, we want to make sure they have Narcan in the sober in the sober house, just in case.
00:44:05.820 --> 00:44:12.536 Tommy DiMisa: What is it, con? What just give us context? Is it like a group home? Is it like.
00:44:12.910 --> 00:44:16.650 No Matter What: They move home they usually have. Each house usually has a house manager.
00:44:16.650 --> 00:44:17.190 Tommy DiMisa: Oh!
00:44:17.350 --> 00:44:39.269 No Matter What: The rules will be very strict. When you 1st enter the sober living environment, you need to be going to meetings, a lot of them. You need to be in treatment and going to meetings. You'll have a curfew. You get drug tested after you're there for a while. They'll give you some.
00:44:39.320 --> 00:44:48.049 No Matter What: you know. They'll throw you a couple of bones like maybe you'll get to stay out a little bit later on a Friday or Saturday night. Maybe they'll give you a day off or a weekend off.
00:44:48.190 --> 00:44:59.029 No Matter What: but that's when you're there. For a while. Kevin likes to talk about how we look at different things all the time. Right? I look at Narcan I look at are you being drug tested?
00:44:59.030 --> 00:45:26.369 No Matter What: Kevin looks at. Oh, this guy left his wallet right on the dining room table. This must be a safe house. He's not worried about somebody clipping his wallet, you know, so we work very well together. But I just want Kevin to talk a little bit about. There's rehab outpatient, sober living, and then we have other connections for the guys. We help. Thanks to some of our wonderful benefactors. Well, you were talking about the ripple effect, you know. I met a guy who owns answering legal.
00:45:26.410 --> 00:45:34.639 No Matter What: and he's 1 of our sponsors for our golf outing. Great guy Bob Shots is just. He's a wonderful man. He's like, I really love what you're doing. He goes.
00:45:34.840 --> 00:45:50.239 No Matter What: I put aside 20 jobs for you. Give me somebody that's in a sober leaving houses looking to reclaim their lives. We will take care of them. We'll put them to work. We'll watch them. We'll make sure that they're on the right track. So we're now trying. You know, people coming to us and we're getting jobs.
00:45:50.440 --> 00:45:53.169 No Matter What: There's a local business called Family Bagel.
00:45:53.350 --> 00:46:08.979 No Matter What: the Chat family. They're so wonderful. Neil, who owns it, called me up one day, and he says, you know, I got to talk to you. He goes. I love what you're doing. I want to do more, and I don't want to write your check, because that's that's not what it's all about, he goes. If you wanted to check, I'll give you whatever you want.
00:46:09.430 --> 00:46:32.930 No Matter What: He supplies breakfast Sunday mornings for ridiculous amounts of sober homes so that they can have a family meal, because when you're in a sober home sometimes you're disconnected from your family, you don't speak to them, or you don't have, and the thing about sober living. We're trying to get them to rebuild their lives. So in the beginning they're an Iop. Then they slowly start tippering down from treatment, and they have to get a job.
00:46:33.550 --> 00:46:42.080 No Matter What: You know, there's a lot. It's very strict. They want you to be self sufficient after a certain amount of time to get your own apartment and start your life. You can't live in sober living the rest of your life.
00:46:42.080 --> 00:46:57.880 Tommy DiMisa: Isn't that what empowers us when you get up and go do a thing every day, and you're impacting the world. Yeah, then you're then you feel better right? And it also. What do they say? The what about the devil's idle hands? The devil's playground? Something to that effect, man.
00:46:57.880 --> 00:47:03.289 No Matter What: Instead. Tommy, we have a thing we we've put in place with the no matter what foundation.
00:47:03.290 --> 00:47:28.269 No Matter What: We'll scholarship guys in sober living for a while, but they need to show us they're moving forward. They need to get a job if they don't get a job. Eventually, the money's going to run out. We're not just going to throw money at somebody who's sitting in a sober house and not looking for work and not looking to get back into being a productive member of society. There's a very close line from our scholarships helping somebody
00:47:28.270 --> 00:47:30.080 No Matter What: to enabling somebody.
00:47:30.080 --> 00:47:31.229 Tommy DiMisa: For sure. Yeah.
00:47:31.230 --> 00:47:45.829 No Matter What: And we have people that we've had on for 3 months, and then we taper it down. We pay a little bit less, a little bit less so they can start working, save money, and then eventually they gotta be self sufficient. We're not keeping people on forever, because we're not helping you at that point.
00:47:45.830 --> 00:47:48.799 Tommy DiMisa: No, you're not enabling Kenny. Make 1 point, and then we'll take a.
00:47:48.800 --> 00:47:54.960 No Matter What: We had a guy who filled out an application, and he wasn't going to meetings. He wasn't in treatment
00:47:55.170 --> 00:47:59.599 No Matter What: when we said, What do you want in? What do you want? In 3 months? He's like, I want a car.
00:47:59.690 --> 00:48:28.470 No Matter What: So we're like, we're not giving this guy money. He's not doing anything to help himself like we don't. It isn't an automatic. Yes, for everybody who asks us for money. You need to show us you're working at this, and we will go to the end of the earth to help you. But if you're not helping yourself, we're not a free gravy train, and one of the rules are, you have to follow the house rules if you get thrown out of the house. We had a guy thrown out of a house and went to another house. He goes. Is my scholarship still good? No.
00:48:28.880 --> 00:48:30.090 Tommy DiMisa: Wow, yeah.
00:48:30.090 --> 00:48:32.479 No Matter What: No, that's what you know. Rules are rules.
00:48:32.480 --> 00:48:45.289 Tommy DiMisa: Alright. Yeah. Listen again, because it's there's empowerment. And then there's enabling, like you said. So we'll take a quick break. We come back. I wanna talk about you, said May. 17th is this rock and roll thing we'll talk about? Right. Does get the date right. May 17.th
00:48:45.290 --> 00:48:48.290 No Matter What: Yeah. Yeah. No matter what foundation.
00:48:48.290 --> 00:48:51.200 Tommy DiMisa: It is not, it is not. That's just like its own little thing.
00:48:51.200 --> 00:48:51.870 No Matter What: Yeah, yeah.
00:48:51.870 --> 00:48:56.289 Tommy DiMisa: Alright. Well, we'll talk then. I want to talk, no matter what foundation upcoming events, how.
00:48:56.290 --> 00:48:57.599 No Matter What: About our upcoming event.
00:48:57.600 --> 00:49:07.750 Tommy DiMisa: We're gonna do that when we come back. You tell me all that stuff when we come back. We're gonna do like the lightning round because Tommy D is notorious for not getting to breaks on time. So I left us on a shorty segment on the end.
00:49:08.150 --> 00:49:11.260 Tommy DiMisa: We'll be right back philanthropy and focus.
00:50:46.410 --> 00:50:48.281 No Matter What: I love that song.
00:50:48.960 --> 00:51:06.249 Tommy DiMisa: I love that I love that you love it. Funny thing, man, back in the day, you know, 200 episodes ago, and I always brag a little bit about how many episodes are, because, like this was an idea that I talked about for 2 years and didn't do it. It had a logo. It had a name, and it had 0 episodes, and I only say that to say gang
00:51:06.400 --> 00:51:12.130 Tommy DiMisa: we're not going to be here all that long. If you want to do that thing, go freaking, do it. Try it out. What? Yeah.
00:51:13.010 --> 00:51:16.509 Tommy DiMisa: This this song to me is is funny, because
00:51:16.620 --> 00:51:25.459 Tommy DiMisa: it's like I used to make, not make. I used to encourage my guests, I would say, about the 3rd segment, I would say, Hey, when we come back you want to sing the theme song along with me.
00:51:26.140 --> 00:51:47.000 Tommy DiMisa: and you would see people freak out right there, live on the day they were. I don't. I don't really sing Tommy D. And then others would be like right in there, and would want to do it. So all right. Let's talk about events, you know. I know. I know Kenny's got some connections at a club. I believe he's a club member. Something like that golf club or something like that. Let's talk about that. We got the golf outing. Get the 5 K. What's the story? There.
00:51:47.280 --> 00:51:54.519 No Matter What: Okay, alright. So last year we had our 1st golf outing, which luckily we sold out.
00:51:54.930 --> 00:51:58.409 No Matter What: Our new one is gonna be June 16th at the Woodside Club.
00:51:59.070 --> 00:52:00.539 No Matter What: Golf is already sold out.
00:52:00.540 --> 00:52:01.420 Tommy DiMisa: Nice already.
00:52:01.420 --> 00:52:06.659 No Matter What: Sponsorships are 95% sold already. I think we have one sponsorship left.
00:52:07.531 --> 00:52:13.629 No Matter What: We have pickleball open and we have dinner open. But we're gonna have at dinner, probably 300 people.
00:52:13.630 --> 00:52:23.760 Tommy DiMisa: Wow! What's the reach there? Kev. What? Why, I mean, you're a new organization got. Let's let me say it this way before you even answer. This. Golf outings
00:52:23.760 --> 00:52:49.140 Tommy DiMisa: are air quotes tough for nonprofits. They are straight up. I'm just being now. Is that a mindset? Maybe. But it's also about relationships and connections you are able to. You're sold out 2 months, literally 2 months ahead of time. You're sold out golfers. I know guys. I get phone calls sometimes Tommy DI got 2 foursomes that somebody can't use. Can you? Can you come out with 7 people and play like that happens sometimes, and gang. If that ever happens, call me up. I'm
00:52:49.530 --> 00:52:49.890 Tommy DiMisa: the hell.
00:52:49.890 --> 00:52:55.989 No Matter What: We actually, we actually have a wait list. Now, like I said, in the beginning, one out of 3 people are affected by this.
00:52:55.990 --> 00:52:56.800 No Matter What: Yeah, right?
00:52:56.800 --> 00:53:12.110 No Matter What: It really, it has a reach and look to be fair. When you were talking about the wine tasting. Yeah, we have alcohol. We don't promote alcohol on the golf course, right, you know, because there are people in sobriety. But at the cocktail hour there's a bar, because there's people that drink responsible. That's great. You should.
00:53:12.110 --> 00:53:13.799 No Matter What: and they should be able to right.
00:53:13.800 --> 00:53:17.739 No Matter What: Exactly. So. Our reach is, you know, one in 3.
00:53:17.950 --> 00:53:31.230 No Matter What: So you know the sell out 2 months in advance. I we use a company perfect off which hosts the the website they called me up yesterday like you sold out like, how'd you do it so fast like we, you know.
00:53:31.730 --> 00:53:47.170 No Matter What: and and we throw a great event. Don't get me wrong. We have a Jordan who's a PGA pro. She's a great girl I've noticed since she's born. She comes out and you have to beat her on one of the holes. If you look down, there's a video of last year's event. It was incredible.
00:53:47.790 --> 00:53:53.879 No Matter What: You know we have. We have golf cannons. We have a Brooklyn Bmws. Donating their car for a hole in one.
00:53:54.020 --> 00:53:55.880 Tommy DiMisa: What golf, cannon.
00:53:55.880 --> 00:54:04.139 No Matter What: It's oh, if you watch the video, it's a you can shoot the golf ball 400 yards and we have a hole in one. If you get that, I think it's like 10 grand.
00:54:04.140 --> 00:54:08.569 Tommy DiMisa: Dude. That's about the only way I'm ever gonna get the ball go 400 yards. If I got a cannon.
00:54:08.570 --> 00:54:11.419 No Matter What: It's, it's it's. It's an incredible, incredible event.
00:54:12.280 --> 00:54:15.369 Tommy DiMisa: That's awesome. So we'll show. Well, we'll share some of this stuff out on social media.
00:54:15.370 --> 00:54:20.349 No Matter What: That's the video of last year's event. It's it's an incredible, it's like a minute video. It's it's an incredible
00:54:20.550 --> 00:54:23.770 No Matter What: recap of what we did last year, and this year is gonna be that much better.
00:54:23.770 --> 00:54:25.190 Tommy DiMisa: And is that the Woodside Club right.
00:54:25.190 --> 00:54:26.709 No Matter What: Yeah, which that club in Mutton Town.
00:54:26.710 --> 00:54:29.679 Tommy DiMisa: Now, if somebody wants to buy tickets for the dinner, can they still do that?
00:54:29.680 --> 00:54:42.770 No Matter What: They register. There's spots for pickleball for dinner. You can see us everything sold out there, but if you open the top you can see, pick a ball dinners. Those are also available.
00:54:42.770 --> 00:54:49.389 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, got it. But I mean, like you can. Still, I know you're saying everything's sold out. But if somebody wants to come in with a couple of grand or something like that.
00:54:49.390 --> 00:54:50.020 No Matter What: Absolutely
00:54:50.810 --> 00:54:56.739 No Matter What: find a way to make it work for you in sponsorship. I like that. We still have t-box signs. They can buy, got it.
00:54:57.050 --> 00:55:00.390 No Matter What: They they can play pickleball, they can come for dinner, they can hang out.
00:55:01.110 --> 00:55:14.759 No Matter What: just show support. It'd be a great day. It's great networking. It's a great day of people that are successful in recovery, people that are in the recovery field. Some of the best rehabs are going to be there. It's a great event.
00:55:14.760 --> 00:55:15.500 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, it. Sounds like.
00:55:15.500 --> 00:55:17.969 No Matter What: Dead filled with love and respect. Really.
00:55:20.450 --> 00:55:23.870 No Matter What: yeah, we got a 5 k coming up in September.
00:55:23.870 --> 00:55:25.039 Tommy DiMisa: Tell me about that, Kenny.
00:55:26.408 --> 00:55:48.229 No Matter What: We did. The 5 K. Last year was at Eisenhower Park. It ended up being a rainy day, but we still had probably over 100 people out 125. We had 125 people out in the rain. We wanted to make enough money to break. Even. We ended up making a decent amount of money over break even. By the way, that's my dog.
00:55:48.230 --> 00:55:49.379 Tommy DiMisa: What's your dog's name?
00:55:49.380 --> 00:55:50.360 No Matter What: Stella.
00:55:50.360 --> 00:55:51.500 Tommy DiMisa: Stella, Stella.
00:55:51.500 --> 00:56:18.529 No Matter What: 5 K. And we're thinking of. We're thinking of doing a Karaoke event sometime around Christmas. We just did a casino night last month was a tremendous success. You know. I want to give a shout out to the Woodside Club, which our joke, our inside joke that you've been. I tell people come to my club. It's not my club. It's Kevin's club, but I totally invite people. They have been a tremendous friend to us.
00:56:18.530 --> 00:56:37.219 No Matter What: They have given us so much, and and really do a top notch job. And that's why people wanted to come back. It was the buzz around that golf outing last year was incredible. People all year were saying that was the best golf outing I've ever been at. They couldn't wait to come back.
00:56:37.220 --> 00:56:42.380 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah, that's a great commercial, because not all outings are like that. I go. I get. I play a lot of outing golf in the summertime.
00:56:42.380 --> 00:56:51.272 No Matter What: I'm gonna give you one quick story about the golf outing. So Jordan Klein, who, like I said, is a PGA pro. She's working at the creek this summer as a pro
00:56:51.930 --> 00:57:21.669 No Matter What: she said to me. She goes, Uncle Kevin. I do a lot of golf outings because she's at Unlv, and she goes. This is the 1st time that everybody was happy, not sloppy, drunk, not yelling. Everybody was in such a good mood. Why, I said, half the people playing are grateful to be alive. The other half are grateful to be outside enjoying themselves. It's not about drinking, it's not. It was a day of just happiness. She's like I've never seen 124 golfers, all smiling.
00:57:21.670 --> 00:57:38.090 Tommy DiMisa: Wow! You know what to shout out to Jordan, and she probably dealt with a lot of knuckleheads who had had too much to drink being a woman. All that crap, you know there's a lot of all that wound up. Nonsense and shenanigans. So you know what? That's why it's a beautiful day. We're out of time, Kenny, go quick, because I know you got something to say.
00:57:38.090 --> 00:57:44.069 No Matter What: No, I just said she's about 125 pounds soaking wet. So every single guy paid 20 bucks to beat her.
00:57:44.070 --> 00:57:44.390 Tommy DiMisa: Yeah.
00:57:44.390 --> 00:57:51.039 No Matter What: 2 people beat her. One of them was Kevin's son, who she told Kevin, Uncle Kevin, and let him beat me.
00:57:51.040 --> 00:57:57.820 Tommy DiMisa: Really only one. That's too funny, little Rob. You were let to win. It was a joke you were.
00:57:57.820 --> 00:57:58.490 No Matter What: Yeah.
00:57:58.490 --> 00:57:59.330 Tommy DiMisa: He let you win.
00:57:59.330 --> 00:58:01.149 No Matter What: I mean we would love to come on again sometime.
00:58:01.150 --> 00:58:06.069 Tommy DiMisa: I would love to do. Let's get you. We'll get you going Long Island change makers. We'll get you out to the studio. We'll do hashtag.
00:58:06.070 --> 00:58:06.600 No Matter What: Love it.
00:58:06.600 --> 00:58:11.869 Tommy DiMisa: Together. I will be at the golf outing. I'm excited. I think you guys gonna be at the Imagine awards Long Island.
00:58:11.870 --> 00:58:12.690 No Matter What: We'll be there.
00:58:12.690 --> 00:58:13.640 Tommy DiMisa: Right. April 29.
00:58:13.640 --> 00:58:16.600 No Matter What: Our entire boards coming to represent. It's gonna be a great event.
00:58:16.600 --> 00:58:32.809 Tommy DiMisa: It's gonna be awesome. I'm excited to see we are out of time. The show's philanthropy and focus. Last time. I'll tell you now, though. Nmw. Dash foundation.org. If you need support, you need connections, or if you got a big check and you want to drop it off for my friends go there, too. They'll work it out. Make it a good day, everybody.
00:58:32.810 --> 00:58:33.950 No Matter What: Thank you for having us.
00:58:33.950 --> 00:58:34.850 Tommy DiMisa: You're welcome. Bye.
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