In 1979, our founder, Jack Hamilton went to his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and began his sobriety in 1980. He had a strong belief in addicts helping other addicts and brought Narcotics Anonymous meetings to the local New York communities. Jack continued to reach out to other alcoholics and drug addicts, often bringing them home to sleep on the couch at his home until one day his family said, “We need a bigger living room.” And that is how the vision of opening an addiction treatment center on Long Island was born.
In 1995, Jack officially opened Long Island Center for Recovery (LICR) – a 50 bed drug and alcohol treatment facility, and subsequently in 2002, a 72-bed addiction treatment center in Florida. Although Jack passed away in 2010, he left a legacy far beyond anything he had imagined. Today, Long Island Center for Recovery provides medical detox and residential drug and alcohol rehab services for clients nationwide. His dedication and love in helping others remain in the family – our rehabilitation facilities are family-owned and operated.
To remember and honor Jack’s contributions, he is symbolically represented in the form of the red bird on the branch of our willow tree logo. For us, at LICR, there is the notion of him watching over us, as if he is here, guiding us to improve, adapt and grow to provide the most effective treatment programs to individuals struggling with the disease of addiction.
Jack was passionate about his family, his recovery, and his addiction treatment centers. He never gave up on an addict, and per his daughter’s words, here are the 3 most valuable things he believed in, and taught her and many others that follow his path of helping individuals struggling with addiction.
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