De Paul Treatment Centers 18th Annual Freedom Awards Celebrate Hope

Portland, OR. De Paul Treatment Centers welcomed over 350 guests to the 18th Annual Freedom Awards at the Sentinel Hotel on September 28th. The event raised over $220,000 for De Paul Treatment Centers through sponsorships, tickets, and in-room gifts. All proceeds will go toward De Paul’s lifesaving addiction treatment programs for adults and youth, funding the gap between the cost of treatment and what is covered by the Oregon Health Plan.

The luncheon featured remarks from Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. De Paul Board Chair Harry Wilson De Paul presented Jay Minor with the Samuel C. Wheeler Freedom Award, an honor given to those who help battle the stigma of addiction by being open about their recovery and giving back to the community in meaningful ways.

Jay Minor retired from more than 30 years in the highway construction business in 2007. Jay became involved with De Paul Treatment Centers in 2003 as a volunteer on the Youth Center Capital Campaign Committee. Jay joined the Board of Directors in 2004 and has remained deeply committed ever since, even serving as Chair of the Board for two full terms. Jay now leads the Planning Committee of the Board, which is paving the way for De Paul’s future. Jay’s passion for De Paul Treatment Centers grew out of his own family’s experience with addiction. Jay and his wife Duff found sobriety together over 21 years ago in order to support their teenage son through his own recovery process.

Jay is passionate about youth treatment and is an advocate for integrating high school education into the treatment process. He believes in the continuum of care model and the importance of involving the whole family in the fight against addiction. Jay is not only a great community leader, but also an airplane pilot, an Army veteran, an OSU graduate, a husband, father of four, and grandfather of four.

Devarshi Bajpai is the Medicaid and Addictions Services Senior Manager for Multnomah County Mental Health and Addictions Services. Now with over 24 years clean and sober, Devarshi began his career working as an alcohol and drug counselor from 1994 to 2004. Devarshi first worked as a counselor at De Paul Treatment Centers before moving on to other local treatment providers. In 2004, he went to work for the State of Oregon, participating in Governor Kulongoski’s Methamphetamine Task Force and working with the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to expand drug courts and prisoner reentry programs statewide. He returned to Multnomah County in 2012 where he has focused on developing an accountable recovery-oriented system of care for addiction services.

Lines for Life CEO Dwight Holton presents the special appeal.

From De Paul Treatment Centers:

De Paul works with individuals, families and communities to create freedom from addiction.

De Paul Treatment Centers provides chemical dependency and co-occurring mental health treatment services to men, women, youth and families. Nearly 40,000 people have been served by the agency since its incorporation as an independent non-profit in 1977.

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