Safe Event - Full Coverage

All right, everybody. We're going to get started. I'm going to give you a pro tip. Inside the tent is like a sanctuary. You don't feel the wind. So, come grab the seats while you can cuz they're going to go fast. There's no room. There's no more room. I love that it just That's filler and filler. Me too. Me too. go. I won't touch this. You want me up here or you want me down? Sitting down. Ike, when you come to the front row, I believe the last of the Moheagans are going to sit down. It's not cheaper in the back, but if you feel good, they're good. I got about 10 12 people still standing. Please find your seats. Good morning everybody. Okay, I'm going to change Jimmy. I'm going to change the theme. I know that. Could I have the last 8 10 people please come sit down? The board of directors of the Syrian Jewish community that has made this institution what it is, as we've spoken about for years and years past. I'm not going to go through all the history because we know who they are. We know who they were. And the board is calling our annual Hadad Home event to order. You like that? It's a little different. I never said that before. I never did that. But we're called to order. So, we're here for safe. uh volumes and volumes can be written up to now what this organization I'll be brief has established itself to do for our community. It is with a heartfelt admiration to all the former presidents, all the board directors, all the people that have contributed to safe to all the therapists and very much very much importantly to all the donors because they couldn't do it without us. I'm on the donor side. Yeah. And Jimmy and Charlie let me introduce people and help to fund raise in 40 minutes from now. But the fact is that everybody that I mentioned especially the donors safe thanks you because it could not establish herself and do the mission of helping every person that comes through their doors or that we get a phone call for. And unfortunately the phone rings and rings and rings and there's never going to be a time like Ike the founder will tell you that we're not going to pick up the phone and we're not going to give you advice and tell you what we think your family should do. Right? Not all the time and not on the first round does your family able to do what needs to be done. It's unfortunate and I say that because I hope this resonates throughout the community. All I I think we're more than 85,000 people. I went to a wedding last night. I knew 10 people. There were a thousand there. We're growing. We're growing. And we need our institutions and we need infrastructure and SAFE has built that. But you got to listen. Their advice is biblical. It's been tried and true and true and tried. Listen to the therapists. Listen to whoever's on the other side of the phone. I promise to this community at large, they will guide the person you're calling on behalf of, they will help them. They will get them better. They'll get them the help they need. They'll get them the support that's necessary. But we have to listen. I'm going to change the program a little bit because that's what I've been empowered with. I'm going to go sit next to Ike because there is one speaker that's not on this short program. My time now is aotted. And uh I've been asked by a former president, not of the United States because maybe we don't want to hear from him. Let me not get political. I got a lot to say. But I do want to say before I invite this person up, I hope this also gets out there. Our community is going to do everything in its power. Don't even question it. Don't even ask. We are at the top of the mountain as far as knowing, including myself, unfortunately, because I didn't want more things to do in my life. I have enough with my family, my business, and my community that I love. But we are going to win the mayor's race, and we are going to keep New York City safe so we don't have to move or the other crazy things that we're talking about and thinking about. We're going to win. And the only way that we win, it's not money, it's registering. But you're going to hear a lot more from me in the future about that. I call up my good friend to speak to us before we're going to invite Jimmy to call up Gil Carney, a big supporter of SAFE for many years now, Charlie Tibelli. Come on up, Charles. [Applause] So, I wasn't supposed to speak today um but I felt it was necessary. Five years ago, I was president of safe. Five years ago, I was president of safe and uh I needed some help. I needed to take care of some other things in business and life. And I came over to Jimmy. I had lunch with him and I said, "Jimmy, please take over for me." James, he was still Jimmy then. And James wasn't happy. He wasn't looking to for the extra responsibility right then and there. And you know, some of us on the board have a personal connection to SAFE. Uh Jimmy, to his credit, worked with us even though he doesn't have that personal connection and solely for the benefit of the community. And Jimmy took on the job 5 years ago. He told me he'll give me two years. Two years. Five years later, he took SAFE to another level. Imagine Imagine [Applause] you run an organization. You raise millions of dollars. You're in board meetings every month. And you have no idea who you're helping. You have no insight to your clients. Nobody tells you thank you because it's all confidential. But Jimmy does it. James does it strictly for the community. James, you have saved countless lives. even though you don't know who they are. Every penny, every penny we spend at SAFE goes into h helping a family, saving a life. You're as integral to the community as anybody out there. And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. That wasn't in the program. Thank you. Thank you, Charles. Thank you, Harry. So, on that theme of gratitude and thanks, anyone that's been to SAFE, anyone that's struggled with addiction knows that one of the key aspects is having a solid support system around you to help you get through. Having somebody that's there with you through thick and thin, good times and bad for safe as an organization, that person is BHI bank. BHI has been with us through thick and thin during the good times when money was rolling in COVID when you couldn't leave your house. It was never ever a consideration on their part to say, you know what, not this year. You know what? We didn't get the same budget that we got. We We can't help, you know, we're cutting back every We've never heard those words, the opposite. We've only ever heard from Gil and his predecessor, we got you. So, we want to say thank you. How do you say thank you to somebody like that? I'm very eloquent. I speechify, but as good as I am, I'm not as good as David Hamel. Probably the best poet, best writer the world has ever known. Gil, come on up. On behalf of the Safe Foundation, I want to give you something. Nice. This scroll, this scroll has every single sentence from that includes the word gratitude on it. Any word, any sentence, h to hu everywhere throughout. It was specially made by Judaisimo. Got to give him credit for it. and he had so fair make the design and put it out. So I can't say thank you nearly as much as this can. So Gil from the bottom of our hearts it saved for all the lives that they said I saved. I can't do it without money. We can't do it without your help and sponsorship. So thank you. Thank you very much. [Applause] Please go ahead. Good morning everyone. First and foremost, I'd like to thank Richie and James for opening their home yet again for this uh breakfast fundraising for the safe. No matter what's the what the weather is, I think your your warm hospitality make it very nice. My name is Gil Carney. I'm managing the operation of BHI which is the branch of Bankim who is located in Israel. I manage the operation here in the US. I'm here with my team. H for me myself this is the fifth time that I'm here engaging with the safe but the bank is much much longer than this and uh I must say that it's a it's a privilege to be here so thank you very much [Applause] safe mission to bring healing and hope to individuals and families affected by addiction continue to inspire us. This is the main reason that we are supporting this wonderful organization. This organization serves as serves as the brightest light during some of the darkest days in people's life. Look around you. This is what community looks like. By providing unwavering compensate compensate support system, staff, volunteer, organizers and advocates became the source of strength for many during the most vulnerable and uncertain times. And as we know, uncertain times can become their own catalyst for triggering individual struggles. We are seeing a disturbing rise in antiism around us, around the world. The world around us is constantly shifting. Market change, global events unfold, political, economic and personal unrest and volatility can touch all of us. But in those times, resilience is the remedy and we must remain steady to our values and to our relationship we value across our community. Our bank has always believed that meaningful relationship whether personal, professional or community based are the fun foundation of lasting success. That belief guide us our work in the US in Israel and wherever we operate we operate. We don't just save communities we aim to take part in uplifting them. Our portfolio is not just a collection of development projects promising profit, but rather it's portfolio of people who build, who heal, who serve. And we believe showing up for them, not just with words, but with action. That's why now more than ever, we are deepening our commitment to the communities where we live and work through direct donation, partnership, and being actively involved to help strengthen the fabric of those vital organization efforts. Because unity, compassion, and solidarity are how we hold strong. On behalf of the entire BHI team, I want to offer our deepest appreciation to the staff, volunteers, supportive for the safe who build, heal, and serve our communities. The dedication you show every day becomes the root of so much strengths and resilience. We are thankful to stand beside you as open arms to help catch our brother and sister when they fall and to serve an interlocking hands to help them lift back up again when they need it most. Thank you very much. [Applause] You could stay here. So, I invited everybody that wanted to sit to sit and I get it. Standing is good, too. So, Jimmy Charlie said it all. But what he didn't say is on my behalf and the behalf of our community because he was talking about himself and the safe team which is the nucleus but on behalf of myself and the community uh you've stepped out and you've been in my opinion watching from where I sit so many organizations and institutions get formed or that were formed like safe and then they need new leadership and they need a new board structure of board of directors or board of trustees and uh you've done an unbelievable job and what's most interesting about it sh in the back what's most interesting before I give you the mic to update us and tell us what safe has done this past year is that you want and you will not accept any accolades any credit you want nothing other than what I said when I opened and what Charlie said about you is to help the people in need. And we owe you a debt of gratitude, Jimmy Hadid. Your parents, your wife, your children. You're an example to this community. And my and my award for you is not a physical award. It's an award that Hashem should continue to bless this home and your home in Brooklyn and anywhere else that you choose to go and travel and to be happy and get a lot of from your children and lots and lots of grandchildren because I know what we want is our legacy, right, Charlie? We want to see more of the little rascals messing up the house. Thank you. Thank you, Harry. I'm taller than you and I'm wider than you, but you still cast the biggest shadow. Thank you so very, very much. The disease of addiction is deadly. There's just no way to sugarcoat it. So, I'm not even going to try to. It kills friendships. It kills marriages. It kills livelihoods. And at its worst, it kills our loved ones. We live in and are part of what's often called the greatest community in the world. And I, for one, I'm not going to dispute that. Deep down, I know it to be supremely true. But what I also know to be true is that life within the community is not without its own special unique challenges. There's nowhere to disappear to, nowhere to hide when we feel like we don't quite fit in or measure up. Keeping up appearances can lead us to take actions that we know are not in our own best self-interest. Disagreements or disputes with our parents, our children, our spouses, our teachers, our friends, our superiors, bosses get magnified when weighed against the veneers of relationships of so many people. We think we know. And for a significant percentage of our community, what results are harmful behaviors and dangerous diances with illicit substances, destructive and disordered eating habits, reckless and ruinous gambling, and unhealthy relationships with food. But great communities don't pretend these issues don't exist, but rather take on the challenge to rehabilitate. Great communities don't throw up their hands in resignation, but rather double down on education and prevention. Great communities don't sit idly by and accept society's social failings, but rather fight back and reverse course even when it feels like you're rowing against the tide. And in all of these areas, safe is leading the charge. It was right here on this stage when Harry decrieded the bane of addictive cell phone usage, pleaded with us to do something about it. Safe Parenting answered that call. We brought all of our school administrations to the DSN for a lightning rod event attended by 800 concerned community members explaining exposing the harm these phones have been doing to our children. Within a week, a week of that event, every single one of our schools reformed their cell phone policies. That's real meaningful change. When tragically the fentinel crisis hit our community too close to home this past winter, SAFE reached out to our esteemed rabinet and coordinated a week's long communitywide initiative to raise awareness and make sure that people understand one pill can kill you. Our blessed rabbis were uniformly spreading the word that you do not know the true source of what you are thinking of ingesting. Do not ingest it. This is not a message aimed at habitual drug addicts. It's a risk to anyone taking a pill not from their pharmacist prescribed specifically for them. I'm begging you. The Xanax you think you got to go take because you're taking a flight whatever it is somebody hand do not take it. This past year, project safe, our inschool specialized curriculum, has been completely revamped under the leadership of Leatah Han and in coordination with Sally Franco to equip our kids, very important, to equip our kids with the tools and skills they need to build self-confidence and make healthy, informed decisions in their everyday lives. Engaging lessons, honest and open conversations, practical real life strategies are the best ways to navigate and handle peer pressure and stress. Our team of educators and professional volunteers hosted dozens of special programs for students of all ages, both during and after school hours, as you can see the photos from the slideshows. Just as important as educating our kids is educating our parents. The kids spend thousands of hours in school. The schools spend thousands of hours with the kids. The parents need to step up and put in the same amount of time in their own children's education. Safe Parenting is proud to announce to launch today two new initiatives aimed at increasing parental education and engagement with their kids. First, a brand new website launching today filled with dozens of informative and interactive tools. It's a phenomenal resource on a myriad of subjects facing parents today. Even more exciting, the launch of SAFE's, sorry, Safe Parenting's new podcast featuring popular radio host Jersey Judy Franco and renowned author and educator Safe Parenting founder Corey Ashby. These two extraordinary women will be hosting professionals and thought leaders from across the country tackling the trending topics our parents are dealing with and want to learn more about. I encourage everybody to look for it, sign up and listen. It's going to be a hoot, but it's going to be transformative. In just a couple of years since its founding, Mindful Eating Project has overseen over 2,000 individual therapy sessions. Over 50 clients has have received treatment with financial support. Mindful Eating has organized book clubs, Instagram live events, thought-provoking in-person events, and support groups, all in an effort to shine a light and what has been a traditionally closeted community epidemic. I want to personally thank all the courageous, selfless speakers who spoke candidly of their own struggles in order to help others. It's never easy to come forward, but the gratification you're going you get for doing so is invaluable. I want to give a special shout out to Michelle Hadad, Lraine Shaar, Charlie to Belly. They really put their heart and soul into getting this organization off the ground and the results so far have been spectacular. Thank you. [Applause] All this all this and this is in addition to our core founding mission, helping people already suffering from the disease of addiction to and through their recovery. The safe hotline fielded 736 calls for help in this single year. 736 frantic, frenetic, frightened calls. I said it last year. You don't call safe because you had one bad night. You call safe. If you picked up the phone, you've got a real issue that you know needs to be dealt with and is affecting you and your family and your loved ones. 736 community people felt that need and I'm glad and I encourage everybody to call our clinical staff left by led by Jessica Steinmets. Thank you. conducted 4,500 individual and group therapy sessions in our building. We've got a building on Avenue W. We've got an office in Eatentown, New Jersey. Safe impacts thousands of lives every year. Rich or poor, observant or not, popular or shy, young or old, addiction does not discriminate. And the need continues to grow as the goalposts continue to move further away from us. I can't watch a sporting event without being assaulted by ads for gambling sites. Problem gambling I I can't believe I'm saying this statistic. Problem gambling now accounts for nearly half of our admissions over the last six months, up from 16% only 5 years ago. And there's more. and more legalized gambling sites and platforms first coming online. SAFE is fighting a multiffront war. We are excited to announce that construction has now begun on our new state-of-the-art medical building designed to house all of these initiatives and more with the help of New York State Senators Sima Felder, Andrew Gennardis, our own Sam Sutton. Congratulations. [Applause] As well as New York State Assemblywoman Alen Weinstein, SAFE has completed the purchase of the building next door to our current clinic and begun construction of what will be a doubling of our current facility slated to open in fall of 2026. We will be poised to adequately handle the everinccreasing need for the decades to come. In its nearly 22y year history, there isn't a single family in our community that has not at one time or another reached out to safe, including my own. Once a year, we reach out to you. Once a year, we don't have six different events, four different fundraisers. Once a year, we reach out to you. We need your help. We have a $3 million budget. 75% of it is raised from the people in this room, from the people in this community. I cannot get to everybody. I need everybody to get to me, please. I began speech stating I believe I began a speech saying that but I believe we have the greatest community in the world. It's recognizing the importance of s and sustaining organizations like safe that actually make it so. Thank you. Before you do that, thank you everybody for coming. Thank you Jimmy for giving us the state of the union, the update on safe this year. Before we do that, I'm going to do another Charlie for one minute. Okay, I think it's appropriate and then we're going to call on the next person to introduce our speaker this morning, which I won't tell you who it is yet. So you get excited. If I can just take a second to give acknowledgement, which like Jimmy, he doesn't want, just to keep putting a face on our founder, our leader, the man that all of this would not have happened if not for that day that our good friend Stanley Cheer saw this vision and made this decision. Ike, can you please come up, please? Everybody, I dwack the founder of safe. Charlie, come on up. Jimmy, the hat has a yamak under it. Keep it on. Keep it on. I need my protection. Okay, Jimmy, take it back. Okay, I you're my hero and I don't even play ball. All right, let's keep going. Okay, so in keeping with the theme of continuity and support and how important it is, we're going to try something new this year. We're gonna call I want to call up Morty Cameo. Morty, where are you? I want to call up Morty Cameo. Mordio spoke for us. Morio, does anyone call you that? A lot of people. Morty spoke for us last year so eloquently, so passionately, so heartfelt. So, in keeping, we're going to try a new thing. I'm going to have last year's speaker pass the baton to this year's speaker and introduce him. So, Morty, take it away. Thank you. Just wanna I just want to mimic everybody that spoke about James for a second. No, no. Well, one second. One second. Because when I was listening to you, it's all about passion. That was very heartfelt. So, keep it up. I love you and you know how much I appreciate that. Uh, it's truly an honor to be back here with the Safe Foundation, a place that meant and means so much to me and my family. When I stood here last year, I was right in the middle of my personal transformation, still figuring out what life could be beyond addiction. I shared my story, my tragedy, my recovery, and most importantly, that asking for help was okay and is okay. And let me tell you, this past year has been nothing short of amazing. I've had the privilege of helping people who reached out after hearing my speech. People from all walks of life struggling with addiction. One that really struck with me or stuck with me, sorry, was a woman from Baltimore who actually got my video. She called me asking for advice on her son who was actually non-stop betting on these apps. My point is whatever happens here in this room today, who knows where it could be and who knows whose lives you can help. I've spoken in schools, shared my life story with students this year and in the process of helping others, I made sure to stop and continue to help myself. After 20 years of success in sales, I realized it was time to grow again. I stepped out of my comfort zone and took on a brand new chapter in my life. I've always had a passion for real estate, but never took on that next step until this year. Until that last speech that I made last year. I now work at Tri-State Commercial, surrounded by close family and friends, incredible people. It's more than just a real estate job. It's living proof that recovery doesn't just help us survive, it helps us thrive. I've built new relationships, discovered new purpose, stepped into rooms I didn't think I would ever imagine to be in. This past year taught me that our stories never really end. Shut the up. This past year taught me that our stories never really end as long as we stay open to growth, to connection, and embracing what's to come. So now it's my privilege to pass on the mic to someone else, someone with their story, someone with their own power, their own journey, and their own message. Please join me in welcoming this year's speaker, Elliot Ash. [Applause] Thank you. Good morning everyone. Thank you all for being here today on this beautiful Friday morning when once again Hashem reminds me of the countless kindnesses he blesses with me blesses me with. My name is Elliot Ash and this is a story of my journey. This isn't a story of struggle. It's a story of rediscovery, redemption, of faith, resilience, and falling, a resilience of falling apart and hitting rock bottom, and ultimately learning how to live again. Fortunately for me, my journey began in love. I am the youngest of four siblings, one sister, two brothers, raised in a warm, vibrant Jewish Syrian Jewish family. Growing up we spent Shabbats in shul summers in deal took family vacations and holidays surrounded by traditions, foods and memories and laughter. I remember Jido Ash sitting with us and sharing stories about life on the lower east side in the 1920s passing down wisdom, life lessons and history in in the way only he could. There was always joy, love and a deep sense of belonging and normaly. a feeling that everything was just as it should be. I attended Magen David Elementary School. Although I was a shy kid, I made plenty of good friends. I was great at sports and that earned me notoriety. Whether it was football, basketball, or surfing, I could always hold my own. Till this day, I can still catch a wave like I never left the beach. But around seventh grade, something shifted. I started struggling academically which made me develop feelings of being less capable than others. Slowly my confidence and self-esteem began to unravel. I became even more quiet, more reserved, and more sensitive. Over time, I stopped believing in myself. I began to internalize this idea that I was falling behind, not just academically, but in all aspects of my teenage life. By the time high school admissions came around, I felt the pressure mounting. I couldn't get into Mag and David High School with all my friends, which added another layer of sadness and disconnection. Instead, I ended up at Oratra. They were good to me, gave me structure, support, and exactly what I needed at the time. I always I I'll always be grateful for that. But even with everything they provided, I constantly felt like I was living a life that wasn't truly mine. Not a day went by where I didn't wish I was with my friends. In 10th grade, I got an opportunity to transfer back with them. When I went back, I lasted just a few days before the overwhelm sent me sent me retreating. At 15, I wasn't equipped to make that a decision that big on my own. I didn't have the tools, maturity, or life experience. I regretted that choice for a very long time and felt a sense of resentment towards those around me for not guiding me differently. I was just a kid trying to figure it all out. That decision, as insignificant as it may seem to others, followed me for years. It planted seeds of shame and persistent belief that I was just not good enough. After high school, I didn't follow a typical path. No yeshiva in Israel, no college. I drifted. I bounced from job to job. mail order, wholesale, whatever came my way. I tried hard. I had ideas, ambitions, and a genuine desire of being on the right path. But I had no direction, no guidance, and no real sense of where I was heading. At first, I tried my best to live a meaningful life. I kept Shabbat. I thought I was living up to the expectations of what it meant to being a good young man from our community, someone others would be proud of. I thought that meant having a nice car, a nice job, a business that people respected. But ultim ultimately my perception was distorted. I was chasing an image, not a truth. Bouncing around jobs without stability and support left me feeling anxious and unsure of myself. Still, I was working hard and soon enough I made some money. I launched a fashion wholesale business. I purchased samples, traveled overseas, even landed a major retailer with a promising opening order. I was finally in the place I longed to be on top next to my peers. For the first time, I felt like I was a real man with a little bit of money, influence, and confidence. Life was getting good. And then came the moment that changed everything. The pill percoet on Ocean Parkway. One night while hanging out with a group of older guys, some someone handed me a half a Percoet. I did not know what it was, and I didn't ask. I It felt warm, quiet, and controlled, like calm. But that calm came with a cost. What I thought was comfort became a prison. That small, quiet, almost invisible moment, a single choice led me down a path I never imagined. I was caught off guard, but I did not try to escape. In fact, it was the opposite. I told myself that I was strong enough and and I could handle anything. I'm just getting high. I thought I've got this. Nothing would bring me down. Until something did. Unfortunately, the factory I was working with deceived me. And just like that forced my business to collapse. And with that went everything. My strength, my confidence, all my hopes, dreams, aspirations, all down the drain. That collapse broke me. And the pills filled the space where dreams used to live. In that in the wreckage of that failure, deep sadness took over my life. And at this point became desperate. I became desperate. Desperate to feel okay and in control. I was running a race. I kept chasing peace. But the harder I ran, the further I drifted from myself. What started as a as relief quickly became a crutch. That crutch evolved into a cage and and eventually that cage became a living nightmare. Failure echoed every insecurity I had buried and the pills were right there ready to mute the pain. But by the mid20s I was a daily user. I like control or at least the illusion of it. Percoets gave me the illusion that illusion until it didn't. Eventually, I started for forging blank doctor's prescriptions, going from pharmacy to pharmacy to get my pills. I knew that was I knew what I was doing was wrong, and the life I was living was crazy and dangerous. I realized I had to get clean. I tried to get clean on my own, thinking I could I could handle it. I went to Florida. But while I was there, I learned back in New York that there was trouble from the authorities and the FBI got involved. Some people were arrested, even jailed. I was lucky I wasn't caught. But even that didn't teach me a lesson. I relapsed. Looking back, I believe that that was Hashem's way of protecting me. But at that time, I was too blind to see it. I thought I could do it alone, but I couldn't. I wasn't getting better. I needed help. I needed outside support. Then came another tragedy. My brother David shalom, my best friend. He passed away suddenly at 28. A combination of sleep apnnea, medication, and weight. The light of our home went out. And in that silence, I drowned. I ran from myself and from the pain I didn't want to feel. Underneath all of this was grief, the kind that shatters the soul. I was in the limousine heading to the funeral. Hi. I should have been comforting my family, honoring his memory, but I was numb, lost in a haze of pills. And even this loss didn't teach me a lesson. That memory still hurts. There were more attempts when I tried to stop, times when I've detoxed, even stayed clean for short stretches, but nothing really changed. I hadn't yet dressed the real wound. The part of me that didn't believe I was enough. Recovery, I learned, isn't just about removing the substance. It's about rewriting the story you tell yourself. You must heal the inside. Then came the wakeup call. At age 29, I had a brain aneurysm. My body stopped working. My words stopped forming. I asked myself, "Is this really how it ends?" In that moment of stillness, I had decided it wasn't the end. It was the beginning and I meant for greatness. I flew to Mexico. I flew to Mexico to try IOGA, a powerful a powerful plant medicine for addiction. I I it didn't magically cure me, but it gave me a gift, clarity. I saw my life, every choice, every hurt, every belief, with new eyes. From Mexico, I called Ike. He welcomed me with open arms. No judgment, just love. That one call changed the trajectory of my life. Back in New York, I entered the treatment at Safe. I didn't dabble. I committed. I told the therapist, "Once a week won't cut it, and I needed more. I need to come every day." And that I did. I fully immersed myself. I went to save four days a week. I joined groups at nights. I showed up for nine months. I started to rebuild my mind, my heart, and my soul. My mind was finally opening. And I was beginning to see. I came to understand something huge that drugs weren't the enemy. My perception was. I had spent years trapped in victimhood, angry, resentful, lost. But now I had the power to see differently. And once I saw that, I was free to change. That's when I started to heal. While at SAFE, I dove into spiritual work with Rabbi Moses Habber through Mccor. We didn't just talk about religion. We talked about real things. Shame, forgiveness, worthiness. Tada became not just a ritual, but it became healing. Judaism became more than heritage. It became the journey back to myself. Following that, Rabbi Habber suggested I continue my mental health work at SBH. And that's exactly what I did for six more months. I kept peeling back layers and I kept showing up. And today, I am so grateful to Hashem because I get to celebrate myself. I got married last year to the love of my life, Tasa. [Applause] my soulmate and my partner. The essence of our marriage is rooted on traditions, love, respect, and growth. I am also so grateful to be a dad and have a beautiful step-daughter in my life and looking forward to growing our family. For the first time in my life, I feel empowered, whole, present, and truly loved by everyone around me. I have a career I truly love with Barack Builders. A place where I feel valued, inspired, and proud to work and proud of the work I do. Each each day I wake up excited to build something and help people create and preserve their legacies. And most importantly, I have peace. Not just a fleeting moment, but a lasting presence. There are times and places in life where despair exists. Hitting rock bottom was one of the greatest gifts I've ever received. It forced me to become more open and vulnerable. Sometimes it's just the resistance within us that must be broken so the vessel can rebuild. Now I use my experiences to help others. Sharing my story to inspire hope and healing. Let me leave you with this. David teaches us Shun evil and do good and dwell forever. I want to emphasize and do good. It's not enough simply to stop doing wrong. Hashem also commands us to fill that space with good. Doing good includes small acts. Showing up for others, showing up for yourself, and asking for help, praying, giving back, and being honest. It doesn't promise an easy life, but a deeply rooted one. Today and every day, this is my anchor. My journey hasn't only been about stopping addiction or escaping pain. It's been about replacing it with goodness, with truth, and with growth. I am committed to helping others in rebuilding their life with meaning and integrity. And through that, I've been able to build a life worth dwelling on, both in this world and the next. Thank you. Shabbat shalom.