It all started with Day 1.

September 27, 2006, was the last day that I got high, took a drink or placed a bet. Before that day, I don’t recall the last time that I went for 1 day, probably not even 1 hour, sober. Even when I wasn’t in the physical act of drinking, drugging, or gambling, there was likely enough of something in my system to quantify that last statement. If you are reading this annual letter for the first time, I just want to give you a little context into the miracle that is my life, and to give you the confidence, that the person leading the charge at JACS will do anything and everything it takes to help anyone struggling with addiction because I know that pain, and it is not one that I wish for any family to experience.

Since then, there have been quite a few “one day at a time’s” and yesterday I celebrated 20 years of sobriety, surrounded by family and friends, and I can honestly say, I’ve Never Had It So Good. Let me be clear, that does NOT mean that life is perfect, that I’ve “beaten” addiction or that my life is full of unicorns and rainbows, because obviously, it is not, but it’s a whole lot better than it once was!

What it DOES mean is that I have the power of choice today, which is something I did not have in active addiction. For the last few years of heavy drug use when I was in my early 20’s, I did not choose to use drugs, I had to use drugs to survive. I could not get out of bed, without getting high.

I lived to use and I used to live. I wasn’t really living; I was merely existing. I know that there are many who can unfortunately relate to that line. I heard that line from a middle-aged man in a detox centre experiencing his Day 1 for the umpteenth time when I was a year or two sober, and doing some “service work” in AA, bringing a meeting of alcoholics anonymous into a detox centre where many were experiencing their Day 1. He was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Day 1 is powerful.

Today, I choose to “keep it simple.” I choose to be happy rather than to be right (most of the time!) and I have some amazing and super supportive people in my corner personally and in my JACS Family. I live with an attitude of gratitude, that every day above ground is a good day, and an opportunity to be a better version of myself than I was the day before.

Before my Day 1, in the summer of 2006, I had reached my “rock bottom.” Everyone’s “bottom” looks different, and I was always taught that, “the bottom is when you stop digging.” Through a series of events that I knew nothing about at the time, I ended up at JACS when I let on that I would see someone to talk about whatever it was that was going on, because nobody really knew what was actually going on, just that my life was not headed in a positive direction and that drugs were definitely involved. If they only knew how bad it was, I thought; they would probably lock me up and throw away the key, and I would probably be better off that way. I did some individual counselling sessions with Jay and then came to my first meeting at JACS. I was high, fell off a chair, made up a lousy excuse to leave early, and wasn’t so sure that recovery was for me. But I came back. And I kept coming back, again and again and again until I was ready for my actual Day 1 of my recovery journey. An old friend once told me, “You keep coming back to get it, you keep coming back to keep it, and you keep coming back to give it away.” As president & CEO of JACS Toronto, that is what I set out to do each and every day alongside the greatest team of all time.

This past year at JACS was full of growth, and I encourage you, after you read this letter, to have a look at our 2025/26 Annual Report and read all about what we accomplished together, and what the coming year hopes to bring. If you are involved, thank you. If you are inspired to get more involved, we welcome you with open arms. If you are looking for help for you or a loved one, just reply to this email and I look forward to the opportunity of being a part of your Day 1.

CLICK HERE TO READ OUR 2025/26 ANNUAL REPORT

September 27, 2006, was Day 1 for me on my recovery journey. The next few days were mostly a blur, but I remember more than enough of the pain which gives me the strength to keep moving forward and to not go back to how I used to live. I have learned a new way to live. I have gained so many tools and coping skills over my past 20 years hanging around JACS, that keep building on my Day 1 and that ongoing growth, is the key to my success.

Day 1 was the greatest gift. I just didn’t know it at the time.

Yesterday was 20 years’ worth of Day 1’s.

240 months.
7305 days.
175,320 hours.
10,519,200 minutes.
631,152,000 seconds.

The main reason for this yearly message to the community is so that if you, or someone you share this letter with ever thinks or feels like they don’t have a chance of getting sober, or cutting down their use, whether it be alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc., that they don’t deserve a new lease on life, that they are “too far gone” or “not worth saving” and THAT person reaches out to JACS – then it was all worth it. To give someone HOPE that one day they too can have a “never had it so good” life, is the greatest gift of all in my recovery journey.

CLICK HERE TO GIVE SOMEONE THEIR DAY 1

The second reason is to continue, year after year, to publicly thank my family, close friends and my JACS Family, for sticking with me through thick and thin. There were times where I am sure that wasn’t easy to say the least, but you never left my side, and for that I am forever grateful. No matter how many years go by, when I sit down to write this letter, I get waves of flashbacks from the past 20 years, and the gratitude I have is bursting at the seams. All of your faces are passing before me. Some of you are reading this letter today and some of you are no longer with us physically, but you live on in all the work that I do, and in all of the others who I continue to work with on my journey.

To my Mom, my Dad, my siblings, Zalman, Jay and too many amazing friends to name them all, I owe you the world, and I believe the only way to pay that debt is to keep helping others, one day at a time, to give them the opportunity of a Day 1. You have my word, that one day at a time, I will keep doing just that. Thank you all for your unconditional love and support.

To my wife Rebecca, and my “millions” as I call them, Asher, Zoe and Mia, you give me the strength to keep doing what I love – helping others, and I am so grateful to continue my journey with you by my side and trying to be the best husband and daddy that I can possibly be, because you 4 deserve only the best.

Lastly, I encourage you all to join JACS on November 30th for our annual Comedy Night fundraiser featuring Magician and Comedian, Justin Willman. He has a few Netflix Specials, and the evening is going to be epic. We raise much needed funds to give others the opportunity for their Day 1. Step up big time and purchase a sponsorship this year and really help make an impact and join us for an afterparty that rivals any in the city. I look forward to greeting you personally and seeing you there.

JACS continues to have no waitlist for care thanks to our generous Community Angels and donors, and we have been providing families with the opportunity for their Day 1 for the past 25 years, one day at a time.

CLICK HERE FOR SPONSORSHIPS AND TICKETS

In gratitude,

Ori Goldstein
President & CEO, JACS Toronto