Posts under ‘Social Entrepreneur News’

Luis Villalobos receiving the Hans Severiens Award

Luis Villalobos was a great mentor to me, the 12 Angels and lots of other people! He was a pioneer in angel investing, an advocate for entrepreneurs and an architect of organizations. Here is my story about Luis Villalobos…

In 2004, I was in a long term drug and alcohol treatment program. At 42 it was difficult to imagine starting my professional career over. The last 3 years of drug abuse had destroyed my professional reputation. My financial life was chaotic. My personal life was a mess. I had a young 2 and a half year old daughter and a wife who was a well respected professional in the drug and alcohol treatment industry.

For the last 20 years, I was in technology. I was an entrepreneur having founded 3 tech companies. At 42, I was wondering while laying in my twin bed at the drug treatment center, what do can I do? Am I too old or too poor to start another company? Should I get a job in technology? Should I get a get well job at Starbucks and focus on meetings and my recovery?

Career decisions are daunting while living in converted retirement home with 150 other unemployed addicts. Being around so many unemployed people robs one of hope. What can I put on my resume, I have been serving meals to 150 addicts at lunch time for the last 6 months?  I guess they would call that job a resume killer!

Somewhere along my path in treatment, I took the Myers Briggs personality assessment which helps identify temperament and aids in career decisions. My results, ENTP, the classic personality type of the entrepreneur. I was fascinated by the Myers Briggs and its accurate appraisal of my temperament.

In early recovery from drug addiction a person is on an emotional roller coaster of fear, hope, despair and purpose. I was searching for my calling, what can I do? Who am I, I am a recovering heroin addict and an entrepreneur. Those two activities have dominated my life. Where can I find meaning in my career, do I want to go back into technology?

It hit me one day, maybe entrepreneurship can help people with addictions. Maybe I can take my passion for entrepreneurship and apply it to helping people with addictive disorders. I was aware of social entrepreneurs who apply their entrepreneurial talents to social problems. I thought I am going to do that!

The next question is how? I started to brainstorm:

1. Creating businesses in treatment centers. Is anyone doing that? What are the benefits of having a business inside a treatment center?

a. You can generate money to help the treatment center pay for the services they provide.

b. You can provide job experience and funds to the residents in the treatment center.

c. You can make the transition out of the treatment easier and reduce the chances of relapse.

2. Successful entrepreneurs Create jobs and opportunities.

a. Entrepreneurs in recovery are more likely to provide opportunities to other addicts, because they understand what it is like to be an addict in early recovery.

b. Entrepreneurs can create personal income when traditional employment may be unavailable.

I can go on and on with all the benefits entrepreneurship can have to the recovery process but I need to get back to my personal tribute to Luis Villalobos…

So after my little entrepreneurial brainstorm I thought of the 12 Angels, an angel investment group that would stimulate entrepreneurship in the recovery community. I then went on line and found the Angel Capital Association and signed up as one of their groups. They had a program where new angel groups were assigned a mentor, enter Luis Villalobos.

I had a meeting with Luis Villalobos a graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School. He was the founder of the Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel group in the nation. I couldn’t believe it! Here I was a guy living in drug rehab, who thought of a crazy idea to start an investment group that provided funds to recovering drug addicts. Now I was going to meet one of the most influential angel investors in the country, I couldn’t believe it!

My meeting with Luis Villalobos was more than I could have ever dreamed. Luis immediately saw the value in the 12 Angels, the powerful opportunity to use angel investing to help one of the largest economic issues facing our country; addiction costs the US over $340 Billion dollars per year!

Within one meeting, Luis architected the 12 Angels organization. He gave me a blueprint from which I have been trying to follow for the last 5 years. And he gave me more. He attended our organizations first presentation and mentored me to create the legal structure for the group. He helped me understand how to be an investor and a group organizer.

How do we put the 12 Angels into practice? We needed to find an investment. Luis and I discussed starting a high end drug and alcohol treatment center and over the next year Wonderland Treatment Center was born. Luis suggested I utilize the local business schools for support. I then pitched UCLA’s Anderson School of Management for assistance and we created a business plan for career mentorship using Facebook technology. Luis was a guide, an advisor, a cheerleader and a visionary.

I cannot imagine where my life would be had Luis told me the 12 Angels was a horrible idea that would never work. I cannot imagine what my relationship with my wife, daughter, friends and family would be had Luis not given me his time and his experience. Luis encouraged me to follow my dreams. Luis believed in angel investing and entrepreneurship. Luis was a mentor to me and many other people and organizations. I am very sad Luis is gone. The world has lost a very important individual. I know Luis’ made over 60 angel investments in businesses but he made his greatest investment in me. Thank you Luis Villalobos, I will never forget you!

This information-packed workshop is designed for those facing obstacles to employment, such as criminal records, gaps in work history, and poor references. It is ideal for people completing substance abuse treatment or those on probation/parole. In her 28-page guidebook, Ms. Romano details the step-by-step legal process of dismissing criminal records, reducing charges, or obtaining a Certificate of Rehabilitation. Government programs that provide education and job training are also outlined.

Jamie also provides instruction on the entire hiring process, from job searching to one’s first day at work. Also covered are strategies for writing attention-getting cover letters and résumés, as well as excellent interview skills.

For information on other services and workshops provided by Ms. Romano, please visit www.jamescommunications.com. To schedule Jamie for an event or training, please contact her via email at james@jamescommunications.com

Microcredit (Micro Loans)  is a financial innovation that is generally considered to have originated with the Grameen Bank. The Grameen Bank and its founder Muhammad Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for helping 7 million people in poverty receive loans; since the founidng of the bank about US $6.0 billion has been loaned and the repayment rate is 99%.

Mosammat Taslima Begum (left), representing Grameen Bank, and Muhammad Yunus pose with their Nobel Peace Prize Medals and Diplomas.

What can microcredit do for the Recovery community?  How can it help?

Our idea is this:  We provide small loans to men and women who have accummulated a couple of years of sobriety; who are trying to start or grow a business; who would not be able to qualify for a conventional or SBA loan; who are willing to particpate in our entrepreneurship classes and programs.

What do we expect in return?  We expect our borrowers to pay back the loans with interest and participate in our entrepreneurship classes and program.

What do we hope?  We hope that our microcredit program will help recoverying individuals create or expand their businesses, create jobs for people in recovery and reduce the damage lost productivity in the recovery community does to our economy.

If you want to help us launch our microcredit program, please contact the 12 Angels!  Thank you…

Are you or have you ever been in a 12 step program to help you overcome your alcoholism or addiction?  Would you be willing to help other recovering alcoholics and addicts overcome their alcoholism and addictions — so they can reintegrate into the working world as productive members of society — by spending just 3-5 minutes of your time?  If you answered “yes” to those questions, then now is your opportunity to make a difference by participating in a completely anonymous survey that will help on a statistical level to foster a revolutionary online application for the benefit of the recovery community.

12 Angels is a nonprofit organization that fosters social entrepreneurship in the recovery community. The organization’s goal is to create and implement programs that will counteract the economic damage caused by alcoholism and addiction.

Thank you for your willingness to participate anonymously in this development process.  Please complete either one or both of the two surveys presented below based on your background and experience.

By taking these surveys, you are being of service to our community, and we are grateful!

SPONSORS

SPONSEES

“

The 12 Angels would like to thank the Broccoli Foundation for support of our career mentorship program. As the 100th birthday celebration of Albert “Cubby” Broccoli approaches. We send our gratitude out to Family of Albert Broccoli. We are very honored to be supported by the Broccoli Foundation!

I was reading about Albert Broccoli on Wikipedia and noticed something very relevant to this Blog: The Wikipedia author writes about how Albert Broccoli became a mentor to Michael G. Wilson; Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are Executive Producer’s of the James Bond Film Franchise. The Broccoli family is a wonderful example of mentorship and are HUGE supporters of education. We would like to thank Tony, Tina, Barbara and Michael and Jane Wilson along with the other members of the family.

The Broccoli Foundation has helped support education programs at USC, Johns Hopkins University and many other eductaional instittutions and programs. In 2001, the Foundation established the Dana and Albert “Cubby” Broccoli Professorship in Oncology to advance discovery in breast cancer and vaccine therapies at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Dana and Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli Foundation funded a faculty position dedicated to teaching the business and practice of film producing.

For more information on the Foundation’s work please see:

Brocolli Donation

News about Brocolli Donation

The 12 Angels organization recently started a career and job mentorship program. As a compliment to the services people receive in the 12 Step community, the 12 Angels are looking for mentors to model successful career development. Our program does not ask our mentors to find people jobs but rather be guides to career progress.

If you would like to be a mentor, please contact us at 877-858-1212. We need you!

We would like to thank José Luis Nazar for allowing 12 Angels to meet
at Houdini Park, one of the most storied locations in Los Angeles.

José Luis Nazar, the owner of Houdini Park, is the creator of Inglés
sin Barreras, the most successful English course for Hispanics in the
United States. He is restoring Houdini Park to the incredible
property it once was — a glorious four acres replete with natural
springs, cascades, Koi ponds, terraced gardens, and centenary trees.

Harry Houdini reputedly lived on the Laurel Canyon property in the
early 1920s. This world-famous magician had come to Los Angeles to
further his fortune in the Hollywood film industry. After Houdini
died in 1926, his wife, Bess, lived out her days in the estate’s
guest house, using the main house to conduct seances with her dead
husband.

We hope Houdini, the great escape artist, will aid us in our mission to help recovering addicts escape their previous life. We’ll take all the help we can get, even from the “great beyond,” to stop the damage addiction is doing to our society. Without support from people such as José Luis Nazar, our mission would be impossible.

Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased rapidly. As of January 2009, we have more than 11 million people unemployed. Everything equal would an employer hire a recovering addict? If you were an addict just leaving drug treatment center would you disclose this to a potential employer? I didn’t. I said I was returning from an extended trip to Europe in my first interview after rehab. I got the job.

Here is an interesting statistic from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA); in 2006, 23.6 million persons aged 12 or older needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem. Out of the 23.6 million people needing treatment only 2.5 million received treatment.

Doing a little math - 23 million people need treatment and 11 million are unemployed; could it be that 12 million people are using on the job? Watch out employers! Looking back, I feel tremendous regret for the companies that gave me a job. I was a walking time bomb. My employers were blindsided by my addiction; I missed a lot of work, took extended lunch hours, I stole from my employers, I performed very poorly. Yet I was rarely fired. I am very smart and resourceful. I was able to con most employers or do just enough to get by.

Contrast my performance as a using addict with “me” sober and in recovery; I have started 5 businesses, sold 3, 2 privately, 1 publicly, 2 I still have ownership in; 4 of the 5 are still in business. I have employed hundreds of people, pay my taxes, give to charity and help other addicts through the 12 Angels and my personal 12 Step work. Is my transformation unique? I don’t think so. I am a small potato compared to many of my clean and sober friends. I know recovering addicts who run very large companies, employ thousands of people, make millions of dollars annually and contribute huge amounts of money to our economy and to charity.

One of the keys to our economic recovery is getting people clean and sober. Is that enough? We need to take it one step further and provide a bridge back to productivity. This is the focus of the 12 Angels. Here are some solutions to increasing productivity:

1. More agency owned businesses - these businesses can operate inside of long term government funded treatment centers. Some organizations like Delancey Street and the Salvation Army have been doing this for decades. One of our goals with the 12 Angels is to help other treatment centers that do not operate businesses start profitable and with sustainable companies. If you are reading this and are a cashed out entrepreneur, foundation or philanthropist - we need your help!

2. More micro-lending and micro-credit available to recovering addict entrepreneurs. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank for their success in creating economic opportunity to the poor. Why can’t we apply micro-lending and micro-credit to recovering addict entrepreneurs?

3. Why can’t we use models such as the ones developed by Pacific Community Ventures? Pacific Community Ventures uses tools of private equity to stimulate job creation, productivity and wealth in economically disadvantaged communities.

Practicing addicts and alcoholics cost our nation over $340 billion annually. Addiction is the largest health care problem in the nation. Using the 3 models described above coupled with the specific knowledge and experience of the 12 Angels’ organization is a winning combination.

We have an incredible opportunity to help everyone in our nation by reducing the damage addiction costs our society. Addiction is treatable. Economic recovery is possible. The return on investment is gigantic. Act now, help the 12 Angels implement our social entrepreneurship programs in the recovery community.

You can contribute via PayPal by using the button in the right most sidebar or donate your time and expertise by contacting us at 877-858-1212 or via email.

Without question, our country is experiencing an economic crisis of historic proportions. We realize many of our supporters are facing difficult challenges at this very moment. We empathize with these challenges as we have trouble as well. The serious nature of the recession should not be minimized. During such a crisis, however, opportunity often arises.

When an alcoholic hits their bottom, it often opens the door to a new way of life. We have similar opportunities with this economic crisis. Nobody knows if the world economy has yet to hit its bottom. We have faith, however, that no matter how difficult the situation becomes, out of any crisis can arise reasons for hope and the promise of real change.

Recently, much has been made in the media that the Chinese word “危機”, translated as “crisis“, is composed of two characters; one for “danger” and one for “opportunity”. Chinese calligraphers have long recognized that great difficulties are linked to great possibilities for growth.

Addicts in recovery experience this truth first-hand. When they relapse, some addicts experience horrible consequences of health, relationships, financial and spiritual. All addicts who relapse come face to face with the progressive nature of their disease. If the addict, however, embraces the program of the 12 Steps and takes direction, early recovery transforms into a path of freedom. Such a fundamental change is based on the willingness of the addict to follow the suggestions provided by the fellowship of the program. If an addict in early recovery open to receiving their experience, strength and hope of others in recovery, such an attitude tends to lead to wonderful, life changing new opportunities.

We can apply the lessons learned from the microcosm of recovery to the macrocosm of the current economic crisis and the challenges we now face. With the mortgage crisis in the banking sector, the resulting credit crunch and the freefall in world markets, there is little doubt (Let’s hope I am right must certainly be getting close to its bottom. The media is dominated today by fear-based stories of foreclosures and bankruptcy. In light of these facts, how can we not view the crisis except through the lens of danger?

At the 12 Angels, we believe this obvious danger also implies opportunity. As in early recovery, such opportunity only can be achieved through action. In the microfinance model, small loans during periods of difficulty to entrepreneurs in recovery truly can become a bridge to future prosperity. When a credit crunch dominates the markets, microfinance is an answer to the crisis. At the same time, hiring from the work pool of people in early recovery engenders gratitude and a willingness to excel from the employee. Nothing compares with being given an opportunity in the midst of a crisis. Taken together, such ingredients lead to a recipe for long-term success.

We know times are hard. We know that we all have fears and worries about the future of the economy and our own finances, but this is also a time of great opportunity for everyone to beyond the fear. We can help the people in recovery struggling to find a new way of life during this turbulent time. We hope you will consider making a tax-deductible donation to the 12 Angels.

At this time, we need your support and your help to make our vision a reality. Every dollar given to the 12 Angels has gone and will go to create opportunities for people in recovery. We understand that finding money to contribute is a challenge in the midst of such a crisis. The microfinance model of the 12 Angels, however, means a little can go a long way towards helping an entrepreneur establish a business and provide jobs. Every penny given is used wisely through the implementation of business experience and technical expertise. Even in a time of crisis, precise and measured investment can overcome the danger and create true opportunities.

In 1988, my resume was a frightening patchwork of lies and half-truths.  Why? Because I needed a job, and my situation felt desperate.  I was an alcoholic who had just been told by my rehab counselor to go get a job.  I had been using heroin everyday for three straight years , not to mention a panoply of other drugs and alcohol, before I went to treatment.  I had been in treatment at Impact House in Pasadena, CA for four months.  My work history, if you could even say I had a work history, was terrible.  I never graduated from college.  Even after attending UCLA and the University of California at Irvine for over six years, I still never pulled it together enough to graduate.   In my junior year at UCLA, I used to drive down to South Central on a daily basis to score heroin.  In my abnormal psychology class, I wrote a paper on methadone as a treatment for heroin addiction; I had plenty of time to write about such a topic while sitting at the methadone clinic, waiting for my dose.

When it came to finding a job after treatment, a single question reverberated in my head like a pinball in a pinball machine: Who in their right mind would ever hire me? No job history for over two years. No college degree. In terms of recommendations or contacts, my friends and family want nothing to do with me. I had burnt those bridges years ago, and I had let them down a hundred times in the process. In one sense, I did feel a little bit lucky — I did not have a criminal record. A large percentage of alcoholics and addicts leaving treatment have felony criminal records. With the modern resources of the Internet and professional background checks, their pasts continue to haunt them for a very long time. When it came time for me to find a career after I left treatment, I was lucky enough to discover a hidden ace up my sleeve. For some odd reason, while using heroin, I had developed a minor obsession with personal computers, and I had learned how to use and fix them. In 1988, the computer revolution was taking off, and I was able to translate my experience into work. Mind you, I was very lucky, and I thank providence that such an opportunity came my way. Most addicts and alcoholics have a much tougher road to face, and it is getting harder and harder even as you read this account.

Alcoholism and addiction take a tremendous toll on our society. According to a study by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the United States loses about $3 BILLION in productivity while people are in treatment. http://www.drugabuse.gov/EconomicCosts And what happens to alcoholics and addicts after they leave treatment and come face to face with the wreckage of their past. With inconsistent work histories and criminal records, how can they find decent employment?  Ask yourself a simple question in order to find an answer: Would you hire the newly sober? When I started Wonderland Treatment Center, I wanted to hire the newly sober to work there.  My thinking seemed clear at the time - a recovery center would be the perfect place for the newly sober to work and gain experience.  After all, since we are experts in handling addicts and alcoholics, we could handle the given challenges.

Overflowing with excitement in regards to this idea, I asked our clinical team if we could transform it into a reality.  Across the proverbial board, every one of our clinicians gave me the exact same answer: “NO WAY!”  Taken aback, I asked why, and they explained it was too dangerous to hire the newly sober because of our first priority of serving the best interests of our clients. They went on to describe how the newly sober, since they have such a potent recent history of alcoholism and addiction, suffer from a brain disease.  In other words, the “brains” of the newly sober are still healing.  It takes up to two years for some addicts and alcoholics to stabilize.  If we looked inside the brain, we would see the transformation occur. But it takes time for the newly sober to become stable, healthy and productive.

The general opinion in the recovery community is the newly sober are “likely” to relapse on drugs or alcohol.  Many employers of the newly sober regrettably have stories of theft, lies, boundary violations, consistent lateness, and simply not showing up at all.  Moreover, many of the newly sober have short attention spans, are overly emotional and react to minor problems in extreme ways. What employer presented with such facts would want to take such a risk with their livelihood?  In truth, very few, and there reasons are well understood.  Therefore, addicts and alcoholics learn to lie.  They do not disclose to the employer that they are newly sober so the employer does not know they have hired someone in early recovery.  As a result, if the person in early recovery needs support, the last place they will turn to is to their employer.  They won’t tell their employer they need to call their sponsor, go to a 12 Step meeting, see their therapist, and or not overwork to the point of extreme stress.  They are afraid that by being honest, they put their precious and hard-earned job at risk.  Such a perspective further hurts the employee who could improve their support system if employers were sensitive and aware of the struggles which individuals in early recovery face.

Moreover, despite everything explained above, there are some definite benefits of hiring the newly sober. It is typical for the newly sober to overcompensate in relation to the opportunity to have a job.  Many are extremely grateful for the chance to work.  They will put in long hours and work hard.  Since they know the weight of their own history, they usually will work below the “normal” pay scale in the beginning in order to pay their dues.  Of course, there is the danger of work becoming a replacement addiction. With a good support system in place, such dangers can be faced and handled before they become actual problems.

Yes, without question, the process of hiring the newly sober means dealing with certain additional problems and issues. However, it can also lead to an unexpected boon for a company when they hire a capable and dedicated new employee with abilities and skills beyond the expected norm.

The 12 Angels hopes to aid in the resolution of this key question that effects so many parts of our society as a whole: What can we do to improve and aid the challenges of the newly sober in regards to employment?  How can we create a working environment where the newly sober can embrace the principles of honesty and open-mindedness? Without question, we all not only want but need our recovering drug addicts and alcoholics to work as productive members of society. If they are unable to become productive, the point and cost of their becoming sober virtually falls by the wayside. We do not want to use our taxes to support of bunch of recovering addicts and alcoholics without jobs.  In addition, we are tired of paying for prisons that are overflowing with nonviolent alcoholics and addicts who have become victims of their disease and economic burdens on the rest of us.

By carefully constructing a working strategy for employers and offering them the necessary guidelines and support, the 12 Angels hopes to make the process of hiring the newly sober not only workable, but also ultimately beneficial and positive. After all, down the line, the newly sober often become the long term sober, living their lives by the principles of the 12 Steps and knowing intimately the value of showing up as a “worker among workers.” Such an employee is what most employers dream of having in their business.

If you are employer that is willing to hire the newly sober, the 12 Angels and the recovery community need you.  If you would like to discuss opportunities to partner with the 12 Angels in your programs for the newly sober, please contact us at info@12angels.org.  We look forward to working with you!

Authentic!  This documentary is an accurate and moving portrayal of alcoholism.  In November 2005, A&E Television Network premiered Random 1 a documentary-style reality television series capturing the efforts of John Chester and Andre Miller to help random individuals make significant improvements in their lives.  The series explored how a simple act of kindness can truly change lives.

Recently two of the episodes were made into a feature length documentary called “Lost in Woonsocket”.  The movie has been accepted into a number of film festivals.  The story is about two alcoholics, Mark and Normand, who are homeless in Woonsocket, Rhode island.  John Chester and Andre Miller and their team embark on helping Mark and Normand find their sobriety.

The documentary provides short glimpses into the lives of Mark and Normand where we see the damage alcoholism does to Mark and Normand, their families and their communities.  The film is full of hope and tragedy and it does an excellent job of showing how hard it is for an alcoholic to find and keep their sobriety.

The team of John Chester, Andre Miller, Brian Altounian, Pat Finn, Charles J. Weber, David Riordan, Thea Maichle are social entrepreneurs using the media to make a difference.   If you go to their website they make the following statement “We believe that as Americans, we have a rich tradition of helping individuals who are less fortunate than ourselves. Lost and Found in America (LAFIA) strives to inspire in each of us, the power to save the world, one life at a time.

If you would like more information on the film please check out the website at:

http://www.lafia.org/featuredproject.fsp.

Lost & Found in America (LAFIA) is a non-profit organization formed to utilize media to highlight the efforts of individuals and organizations that are committed to helping those in need in their communities.  The inspiration for the creation of LAFIA started with festival screenings of the documentary film “Lost in Woonsocket”.