Rising Above Addiction

Radio host serves at CADA

By Erica Rascón on Dec 22, 2015 in Giving, People

If the name Catherine Remak seems familiar to you, you aren’t alone. She has been the voice of the KLITE 101.7 morning show for 23 years. The show allows her to relish in her passion for light rock while promoting many of the great organizations that serve Santa Barbara residents.

It was through the radio show that Remak discovered the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA). The organization strives to prevent alcoholism and drug abuse through education and public awareness. With CADA, community members gain access to intervention services, treatment, and support.

More than 15 years after serving as a volunteer with CADA, Remak accepted her role as Director of Corporate Development and Communications. She is passionate about the numerous programs offered through CADA and has a difficult time deciding which program initially sparked her interest in the organization.

“All of them,” Remak laughs. “But I’m really fond of our youth services, especially our Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Center which treats area youth with drug and alcohol issues with services to their families. A terrific program called Teen Court also operates out of the Center. It’s got a great success rate, with 85 percent of teens not reoffending. I’m also a fan of CADA Youth Service Specialists, our trained counselors who are on school campuses dealing with kids in a preventative way.”

It is vital to present kids with education and preventative tactics. If they grow into teens or adults struggling with addition, they face one daunting obstacle to their wellbeing– themselves.

“It’s tough,” says Remak. “When they’re in the throes of addiction, they don’t think that they need any help. Sometimes it requires an intervention.”

Yet when a third party is involved, the likelihood of success may decrease. Remak says, “We often see people in Project Recovery, our adult program, because they’ve been mandated by court. That’s tough because when they’re told that they have to do a program, it’s not as likely to be successful as when they’ve decided on their own that they’ve reached their rock bottom and they really want to turn their lives around.” CADA’s youth-centered programming emphasizes preventative measures that can bypass this struggle.

Yet after addiction has its grip on an adult, there is a way out. Among the programs at CADA

, Save A Valuable Employee Assistance Program (SAVE) allows concerned leadership to direct employees towards helpful resources.

“Let’s say you’re a manager and you have an employee who is a great employee but they’re facing an addiction. We’ve found, that even from a financial standpoint, that it’s better to try to get them help rather than fire them, hire a replacement, and then get that new person trained,” says Remak. “Of course, getting help from SAVE also sends a message that you care, long term, about your employees.”

Project Recovery Treatment program is another service that specializes in adult care. Clients with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders receive outpatient treatment to overcome their addictions. Provisions are made for women who are pregnant or parenting, as well as those who require services in Spanish.

With 23 programs under one roof, CADA relies on public support to thrive. Two of the most popular fundraisers are the annual climbs.

“We do an annual Summit for Danny climb, dedicated to a young man that died of a drug overdose,” explains Remak. “2015 was our most successful year ever. We brought in over $130,000 of revenue and had 320 hikers or so.”

The event was the out-growth of the organization’s smaller international Summit for Danny. “In 2016, we will be going to Norway. The International Summit for Danny is led by Danny’s father, Bob Bryant, a local businessman and athlete, and his wife. They take a group of climbers every year and they’ve been doing it since 2001. They’ve raised over $1 million locally for the Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Center,” Remak says. She adds, “This is so important to Bob, because after losing Danny to a heroin overdose, he wanted to be sure no other family suffered such loss.”

While the climbs are a huge success, there are other ways that supporters can get involved. “Supporters can get involved with a monetary donation, if they feel so inclined, rather than climbing a mountain somewhere in the world,” chuckles Remak.

To show your support, visit CADASB.org.