By Pat C.
As I walked into the main office for an interview with Dave Ginsberg, I saw him on the phone fulfilling his senior floor duties. He saw me and after waiting a few minutes for him to finish his phone call, we headed into the conference room for the interview.
There is the busy side of Dave that most students see, but after a few minutes into the interview I realized that Dave has another side to him that only the students and staff who are close with him have the opportunity to enjoy.
In 1983 Dave found himself using drugs and alcohol on a regular basis. He hated life and had a bad heroin addiction, so he admitted himself into a rehabilitation center on Long Island. The rehab helped Dave to get sober, but he had to leave and go elsewhere if he was to continue his sobriety. That other place was The Family Foundation School, formerly known as The Family.
At The Family Ginsberg got involved with his recovery by helping others and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
After six months, Dave left The Family and went back to Long Island where he went to work and was paid a good salary. However, he drove back to The Family every weekend to share his experience, strength, and hope with newcomers. After traveling back and forth for several years, Dave was introduced to his wife, Joyce, by Roxi Losicco, a staff member here. He was offered a job at The Family in 1995 and worked here for two and a half years before he decided to move back to New Jersey and return to his old job.
However, he wasn’t gone long. Shortly after leaving The Family, Dave decided to come back. “I left the school because I wanted to get my pension from my old job. But [after a short time] I wanted to come back because it felt good to help people. I began to see that life isn’t just about making money,” he said.
Dave has worked at the school ever since. He is a staff in Wilson House, Senior Floor person, Director of Safety for the school, and he sponsors students in his house. He enjoys helping others, working with kids, and fulfilling the responsibilities the administration entrusts in him.
He has continued his sobriety since he became affiliated with the school 26 years ago. He said, “I have had to live one day at a time and only for the grace of God have I been able to stay sober.”
Unfortunately, Dave received some hard news a few months ago. He has a failing liver and is on a transplant list. Dave and his family have decided to leave the school in December and move to Florida where he has an opportunity for a liver transplant. He doesn’t want to leave the school, but he knows the move is the best thing for him.
“I am going to miss the students, staff, and all of the chaos that goes on here,” he said when asked how he felt about leaving. He says people ask him whether he falls into self-pity about the dangers of what could happen because of his health. He responds to these questions by saying, “The only time I get upset is when I know my 11-year-old son won’t have a father. I feel for the students who have lost parents because I know how devastated my son would be. But I have to realize that I have no control over what happens. All I can do is live for today and in the moment. I have to let God take control of my life. …Even through my heroin addiction I didn’t know what would happen. I hated life so I used heroin, and using heroin led me to getting sober and now I love life.”
