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22 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 19, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Friend helps others in tackling addiction By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Drug addiction doesn't discriminate -- it affects young and old, rich and poor. It doesn't take a break for the holidays and, if given a chance, it can flourish in anyone no matter how good or kind that person may be. Michael Smolka, owner of Dietrichs Meat Warehouse, is hoping people will keep this in mind during the holidays as he strives to raise money for Terry's Evergreen Addiction Recovery Services, a charity he and friend Debbie Nanson founded in memory of their friend Terry James Kozack, 28. Kozack's death from a drug overdose in April of 2007 had a profound effect on Smolka and Nanson who now work tirelessly to help others struggling with addiction. "Some of the well-to-do people of Oakville and Toronto, when they think of addicts or alcoholics, they just kind of think of these people as bums or low-lifes or something like that, but these people are people, too," said Smolka. "They just have the disease of addiction and because that addiction has such control over them, they don't know how to function normally in life." Smolka noted his friend Kozack struggled with this kind of addiction in the years leading up to his death, seeking treatment in Montreal at one point, but failing to permanently kick the habit. "Terry was just a super nice guy, he was a good guy with a bad disease," said Smolka. "Addiction is a two-fold disease. There's the physical and the mental aspect to it. It plays tricks on your mind and it's hard to fight it. It lies to you and then you figure you're going to use just a little this time and it convinces you it will be different this time and then before you know it, once you start, you can't stop." LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER ALWAYS HELPING: Dietrichs Meat Warehouse store owner Michael Smolka is selling numerous food items from his store to raise money for Terry's Evergreen, a charity that benefits addiction recovery services. For the holiday season, Smolka is hoping to give others the chance to break their addictions for good by selling his Beef Wellington, Chicken Supreme, Salmon Papillote and Pork en Croute with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to Terry's Evergreen. Through this charity, Dietrich's supports numerous agencies connected with addiction recovery including the YWCA of Niagara Falls and St. Catharines, Arid House in Niagara Falls and Thorold, Wayside Houses in St. Catharines, Native Women's Centre in Hamilton, Triple `H' Homes in Hamilton and Women 4 Women in St. Catharines. Smolka noted that on top of all this, he and Nanson put together a weekly outreach team that helps people get to detox/treatment centres. They also provide educational lectures at universities, colleges and high schools in the Niagara Region and provide a hot meal program that brings food to the less fortunate in Hamilton. Oddly enough, Smolka said his efforts to help those struggling with addiction began before the death of his friend Kozack -- with Kozack playing an enthusiastic role in this service. "About two and a half years ago, when my friend Debbie had an agency called `Come Walk a Mile Addiction Services,' we were doing a hot meal program through that and Terry was delivering meals with us," said Smolka. "He was always willing to help somebody, even if he didn't have anything to help them with." Smolka recalled one incident where the two were delivering food to a crack house when Kozack noticed three children present. Unwilling to leave them there, Kozack succeeded in getting the mother into treatment, during which time he and Smolka cared for her children. Today, the charity started in Kozack's name is continuing to bring aid where it can with many people taking a shine to Smolka's method of collecting donations, which allows people to purchase a good meal and help a charity at the same time. "One of my customers who buys Beef Wellington all the time had ordered 36 of them and when she came to pick them up I showed her the money went to a fundraiser so she changed her order to 50 and ordered 20 Chicken Supremes and 20 Pork en Croute and she spent around $1,040," said Smolka. "Hopefully when we sell them all, we'll have about $5,500 we can donate." The fundraising meat products can be purchased for $8 to $9 at Dietrichs Meat Warehouse, located at 1260 Speers Rd., Unit 13. The Thomas Bathory Home Selling System Sun Yoga provides a welcoming environment to practice and grow. THOMAS BATHORY, SALES REPRESENTATIVE Talk to no agent Advertised Until For pre-recorded information it's Sold! Call 1-800-353-1048 anytime, 24 hours a day. 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