Category Archives: Human Interest

Fighting Addiction (Part Two)

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Drug abuse and addiction is a chronic, compulsive, relapsing disorder that almost always requires formal treatment. Drug overdoses have become the leading cause of death of Americans under age 50. In 2016, 62,000 Americans died from overdoses. By comparison, the figure was 4,000 in 1999.

During this episode of Family Comes First™, “Fighting Addiction (Part Two)”, we hear from Linda Ventura and Teri Kroll who both lost their son’s due to addiction. Since then, they have both become fierce advocates against drugs.

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Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
Russo Law Group
Thomas' Hope Foundation

Fighting Addiction (Part One)

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In 2014, over 21 million Americans age 12 and older battled substance abuse. Tragically, only 1 in 10 with a substance abuse problem receives the help that they need. There’s clearly a drug epidemic in this country. Families are being devastated by the opioid and heroin addiction, but there is hope!

On this episode of Family Comes First, “Fighting Addiction: Part 1”, we hear from a parent, Eileen Boyle whose son, Timothy is fighting addiction, and her friend and advocate against drugs, Teri Kroll. Also on the show, we learn about Talbot House, a resource for those struggling with addiction from the program coordinator, Toni DeFelice.

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Catholic Charities

Russo Law Group

In Sickness and In Health

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We all respond differently to the loss of a loved one. How does someone take a truly tragic situation and turn it into a lifelong crusade of good and of love?

On this new episode of Family Comes First™, “In Sickness and in Health”, we hear about a love story that continues and inspires teenagers heading to college who have experienced the tragedy of cancer.

When Joe Satriano lost his wife, Susan to cancer, he decided to document their story. His book, “In Sickness and in Health” shares their love story. The proceeds from the book along with his own funds are used to provide scholarships for children who have either lost a parent to cancer or have a parent who is battling cancer through the Susan Satriano Memorial Scholarship Foundation.

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Russo Law Group

In Sickness and In Health book cover

No Laughing Matter

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Bullying happens far too often.

Oftentimes when someone, often a child, is perceived as different or weak, they can too often become a target for bullies.  While most bullying occurs in school and in the community when children gather, cyberbullying is also becoming more prevalent as cell phones and social media become more popular amongst younger children.

During this brand new episode of Family Comes First™, “No Laughing Matter”, we hear firsthand from Presley Mahos and her father, Paul about Presley’s experience with bullying and how she was able to overcome the negative attention.  Later on the show, Katie Schumacher, author of Don’t Press Send joins us to share how we can be proactive and take a stand against bullying.

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Russo Law Group

Saving Lives

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Sadly, each day, 22 men, women and children die waiting to receive a lifesaving organ transplant. Fortunately, over 650,000 lives have been saved since 1988 because of donors, many of them not biologically related to the recipient.On this episode of Family Comes First™, “Saving Lives” we meet with Cindy Somma, who decided to give the gift of life to a relative and ended up saving the life of another. Cindy shares with us her thought process when choosing to donate her kidney and how she unexpectedly ended up saving the life of a stranger.

Also joining us on this episode of Family Comes First™ is Gillian Cohen, a young woman who was given the gift of life through a liver transplant when she was just 7 years old.  She shares how this experience has inspired her to be an advocate with LiveOnNY to promote organ donation.

We also welcome Karen Cummings from LiveOnNY to share how someone can register to become a donor and how important it is to educate the community on organ donation so they too, cansave lives. Karen explains, “…one person can actually save up to 8 lives through organ donation because you can donate both kidneys, both lungs, your liver, pancreas, your heart. One person can donate up to 8 organs via transplants and enhance up to 50 lives through tissue implants.” She hopes to carry out LiveOnNY’s mission to create a culture of donation. They hope one day, it will not be unusual to discuss organ donation and there will be less of a stigma about doing so.

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Live On NY

Live on NYLiveOnNY is a nonprofit, federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO) dedicated to the recovery of organs and tissue for transplant in the greater New York metropolitan area. Established in 1978, LiveOnNY is the second largest OPO in the United States, serving a culturally and ethnically diverse population of 13 million.

They work closely with 10 transplant centers and more than 90 hospitals in the region to facilitate donation. Additionally, they strive to raise awareness for organ, eye, and tissue donation and transplantation, educate the public, and encourage residents to enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry.

Heroes of 9/11 – Responders

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Co-hosts, Vincent J. Russo and Victoria Roberts Drogin wereprivileged to honor the first responders who fought to save the lives of so many.

On this show, Heroes of 9/11, we are joined by first responder, Tim Brown. Tim is a firefighter who responded to the call on September 11, 2001 and rushed immediately into ground zero.  Tim gives us a first-hand look into the events of the day and shares with you his story of the day we lost – 343 New York City firefighters, 37 port authority officers and 23 New York City police officers. All Heroes.

Also joining us is Troy Rosasco, Esq. of Turley, Redmond, Rosasco & Rosasco, LLP.  Troy provides guidance to the first responders who are now facing serious medical issues due to their time at ground zero and their families.  He discusses the two parts to the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provides medical monitoring, treatment and compensation to the 9/11 survivors and responders.

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Also be sure to watch the episode “No Greater Love“.  During this show, we met with one of the heroes of 9/11, Welles Remy Crowther’s parents, Alison and Jefferson Crowther.

Resources

Turley Redmond Rosasco & Rosasco, L.L.P.

Rosasco logoTurley Redmond Rosasco & Rosasco, L.L.P., has over 25 years’ experience representing injured and disabled workers in Queens and Long Island.

9/11 – The Red Bandanna (No Greater Love)

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On September 11, 2001, terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Center. All eyes turned to New York City as the buildings burned and then fell. On that horrifying day, some people were saved by the heroic efforts of others whom we refer to as heroes. Welles Remy Crowther was one of those heroes.

During this episode, Welles’ parents, Alison and Jefferson Crowther, join us to honor Welles’ life and share his heroic story. Welles was a 24-year-old equities trader who worked on the 104th floor of the South Tower. The day the Trade Towers fell, Welles drew from his training as a volunteer firefighter to put his life on the line in order to save many civilians. Welles’ parents were able to identify his brave actions that day through the stories of “a civilian wearing a red bandanna who saved many lives on September 11, 2001.”

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Supported by the Fetzer Institute in partnership with the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, the Red Bandanna Project, social and emotional learning curricula for students of all ages, has been created. The lessons taught are Leadership, Caring for Others, TEAM, The Power of One, Bridging Divides, Forgiveness andCarpe Diem. Five separate curricula for elementary, middle and high school classrooms, sports teams and camps/youth programs have been pilot tested in 100 schools and youth programs across the country and received by teachers, students , coaches and parents with much enthusiasm.

The Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust was established in September 2001 by the Crowther Family to honor and keep their beloved son’s memory alive through good works benefiting young people. The mission of the Welles Remy Crowther Trust recognizes and awards academic and athletic excellence in young men and women who serve their communities through education, health, recreation and character development. The Trust supports other not-for-profit organizations that benefit young people through annual gifts and special awards.

A Soldier’s Story (The Greatest Generation)

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Sadly, there are a dwindling number of World War II veterans with us today who are able to share their perspectives on what it was like to be in war. We can’t ever forget the thousands of brave soldiers who fought for our country and those who gave their lives for our freedom.

During this episode of Family Comes First, we are joined by Stephen DeMarco, a Staff Sargent in the Army Air Force in WWII, and his daughter, Stephanie DeMarco. Stephen walks us through what it was like to be a young man drafted to fight for his country during WWII.

Stephanie shares the honors her father has received, including the bronze star medal, good conduct medal, and European Union medal. She also states, “My father never lost a plane. Out of all the ones that didn’t come back, none were his. He made sure every one of his planes came back, and that was a pretty amazing record.

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big apple

Big Apple Honor Flight is a hub of the national Honor Flight Network serving all five boroughs of NYC. Our mission is to bring veterans to Washington, D.C. on a one-day trip to view the memorials built in their honor at no cost to these heroes and give them the recognition they deserve.

It Started with Pennies

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For decades, there has been poverty, hunger, and lack of education in Haiti. Father Thomas “Tom” Donohoe made a lifelong commitment to helping the children of Haiti. Even after his death in 2012, his legacy continues to make a profound difference in the lives of many children.

On this episode of Family Comes First™, It Started With Pennies, we are joined by Nicole Memnon and Greg Gengo. Nicole was approached by Father Tom in the 1990s to aid in arranging a connection between the children in his parish and the children in Haiti.

Nicole explains how his mission started with pennies. The children of the parish would bring in pennies during Lent to give to the children in Haiti. Father Tom believed connecting the children was so important. Nicole states, “…In every child, he saw the face of God. He always spoke about Matthew 25: when I was hungry, you fed me and you visited me.”

Greg explains the donation process and how they were able to provide not only money for the children in Haiti but clothes, hygiene products, food, etc.—things we take for granted.

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The Pages of Life

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During this episode, we are pleased to reacquaint you with Eric, Hedy and Jo Anne Page. We first met with the Pages back in 2009. Eric and Hedy are both Holocaust survivors who came to America after living through such a dark and terrifying time. They shared with us their bright perspective on life and how they found the strength to persevere.

During the show in 2009, Eric had shared “…If I discriminate to people just because of a nationality or color, I would be just as low as they were. Nobody will get me down to that level.” Being in a concentration camp and living through such a horrifying time can understandably make someone angry and bitter. Instead, during this update, Eric and Hedy share how their experiences have lead them to volunteer with the Fortune Society along with their daughter, Jo Anne (who is the Executive Director).  They are uniquely qualified to share their inspiration and determination with prisoners. Eric points out that although no one cared about him when he was interned, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about these prisoners.

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fortune society

Founded in 1967, The Fortune Society’s vision is to create a world where all who are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated can become positive, contributing members of society. We do this through a holistic, one-stop model of service provision. Our continuum of care, informed and implemented by professionals with cultural backgrounds and life experiences similar to those of our clients, helps ensure their success.