The Foundation
The James Pinka Foundation was established in memory of our beloved son James. Our mission is to cast anchors of hope and create pathways to wellness. There are three things that fight relapse and recidivism: Faith, Family and Fitness. We have made it our mission to introduce fitness to people currently incarcerated due to addiction so they may find a community of healthy supportive people to sustain sobriety.
james pinka
How do you survive after losing a child? Certainly life will never be the same. Is it even possible to live again with joy and happiness? After losing my son James to a drug overdose I didn’t think I would ever smile the same way again, the hole in my heart was just too big and the idea of healing was too much to bear. But then I found the Neighborhood House of Long Island and I began to acquire the tools necessary to navigate this new journey, the grief journey. The Neighborhood House helped me accept my new-normal and it led me to the Beading Hearts, a peer-led support group for parents who have lost a child to a drug overdose. This group provided a community of people unlike any other, where words don't need to be spoken to be understood and broken hearts now had a place to heal. I joined the alumni at the Neighborhood House and began to speak to people new to the program. I started volunteering at sober homes and jail with the Beading Hearts, carrying a simple message, “You Matter. Your life matters and you are worth the fight.” These words resonated with me and I founded the James PInka Foundation with the hope of being able to create pathways for wellness to people in recovery. We call it “Anchors of Hope.”
-Laurie Pinka