Here are just a few well-known people in whom alcohol or other drug addiction was not identified timely, or in whom alcoholism was allowed to run its course. In many cases, this led to a tragic early demise or series of tragedies in the life of the addicted person and, oftentimes, others with whom he or she came into contact.

OJ Simpson
Judy Garland
Natalie Cole
Robert Downey, Jr.
Marilyn Monroe
Elizabeth Taylor
Daryl Strawberry
Jim Morrison
Ted Bundy
Adolf Hitler

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Introduction

Mission
Statement

Statement
of Need

Boards of
Directors
and Advisors

Contact the
Foundation


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The PrevenTragedy Foundation is a tax-exempt 501c-3 organization, the goal of which is to educate the general public on the need for early detection of alcohol and other drug addiction. The Foundation is intended to answer a question that has been all-but-ignored by similar organizations: what does alcoholism look like before it becomes obvious?

Long before the ultimate tragedies of broken homes, secondary diseases, destitution and death occur, there are dozens if not hundreds of signs and symptoms that suggest alcoholism. This organization is devoted to helping non-addicts identify and intervene in the lives of alcoholics, in the hope of preventing personal and financial tragedies to family, friends, business associates and even people unknown, yet devastatingly affected by the alcohol or other drug addict.

The Foundation also intends to serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas and research, with the goal of identifying alcohol and other drug addicts far earlier than is common and creating more effective treatment for the afflicted.

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Mission Statement

The goals of the PrevenTragedy Foundation are to educate
the public about:

The Foundation also intends to:

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Statement of Need

There are an estimated 15 to 30 million alcoholics in the United States. Many more millions are believed to be addicted to other drugs, both legal pharmaceuticals and illegal street drugs. Of these addicts, very few are in recovery. According to alcohol addiction expert Dr. LeClair Bissel, only 10% of alcoholics ever enter into effective treatment programs, and very few are able to stay sober, despite all the study, research and money poured into medical research. This Foundation believe that one reason for this is the lack of understanding by the non-addict of the addict’s need to experience pain from consequences, which is essential in order to motivate the addict to seek and stay in recovery. The Foundation is also of the opinion that most addicts are never even recognized as such, since hardly anyone is identifying early-stage alcoholics.

The average age at which people in the United States engage in their first drinking episode is estimated to be 13. The typical alcoholic in recovery tells us he or she triggered alcoholism during that episode. Given the numbers above, one could easily deduce that there is at least a 10% or so probability that a person over the age of 12 is afflicted with alcohol or other drug addiction (“alcoholism”). Given the fact that 85% of adult alcoholics and 70% of adult illegal drug addicts hold steady jobs, many of these would be viewed as “functional”. Since even functional alcoholics engage in poor behaviors at least occasionally, 10% is not an inconsequential number. According to recovering alcoholics, every addict adversely affects three or four people, at least one in a potentially lethal way. Therefore, the Foundation believes that at any point in time, 40-50% of the population (including the addict himself) is being negatively affected by at least one addict, with 20% (10% addict and 10% addict-affected) seriously so. Furthermore, many non-addicts exhibit some of the behavioral patterns of addiction that can, in turn, adversely affect others.

All of us have heard of or know people whose families have been devastated by the death of a loved one because of accidents caused by drunk drivers or others under the influence in the work place. The Foundation believes that most criminal, unethical and other misbehaviors are rooted in alcoholism. The psychological effects of rape, embezzlement, theft, betrayal and all other criminal and unethical conduct can be devastating. Practically everyone is eventually affected, some several times over the course of their lives. The need for cutting edge ideas on identifying early-stage alcoholism and the dissemination of the such ideas, is compelling.

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Board of Directors

Doug Thorburn, Founder, President
Pat Moomey, C.A.T.S., Vice-President
Patricia Morrow, Secretary
Patricia Ferguson, Treasurer
Joan Harter, M.S., C.A.T.S.
Bob Richards, C.A.T.S.
Mike Kennedy
Joe Pilkington

Board of Advisors

Mel Kreger, Esquire
Sergeant Thomas Page
Katherine Ketcham, Author

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Contact us at by mail or phone at:

PrevenTragedy Foundation
P.O. Box 7301
Van Nuys, CA 91409

Telephone: 818-360-0985
Fax: 818-363-3111

Or click here to submit an inquiry now!