Those who were closest to actor Matthew Perry are understandably emotional on the one-year anniversary of his death.
For his longtime team, manager Doug Chapin and publicist Lisa Kasteler-Calio, their love for Perry, who died Oct. 28, 2023 at age 54, and his determination to help others struggling with addiction has fueled their involvement in the Matthew Perry Foundation in the U.S., which was established shortly after his death.
Their mission today is to provide grants to grassroots organizations that are “looking to fill the gaps in people’s recovery journey,” says Chapin, who serves as the foundation’s board president. “One of reasons why it’s hard not to be emotional is this an organization constructed out of love for him. The thing that we all share is this act of love for him.”
The foundation, along with the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada, established by the actor’s family, has turned Perry’s 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing into a blueprint of sorts.
“We’re guided by the book. We didn’t have to search for a mission. We had it,” says Kasteler-Calio, who serves as its executive director. “Matthew was so brave in writing that book and letting people in the room with him. He didn’t leave out anything. And the motivation wasn’t to be more famous or to make more money. It was to do what turned out to be the most important thing that he wanted, and that is to help people.”
One of the foundation’s main goals is to combat the stigma surrounding the 48 million Americans coping with the disease of addiction. “Only a fifth of that 48 million reaches out for help because of the shame,” says Kasteler-Calio. “[Perry] was so convinced that he was less than, that he was never good enough. I believe that his life would’ve been remarkably different if he had understood that this was not his fault.”
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“The thing that keeps people from reaching out for help is stigma,” adds Chapin. “So, that’s kind of the big kahuna. And then the helping people in the journey became sort of project-specific for us.”
The more than 20 initial grantees include groups like The Wall Las Memorias, which supports Latino and LGBTQ+ communities in L.A., and a program offering addiction counseling via telehealth to people incarcerated at California’s Santa Rita Jail.
The foundation is also funding the Fellowship in Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, the first program to bear Perry’s name. Led by Dr. Sarah Wakeman, a national leader in addiction medicine, the fellowship will provide advanced training. “She has created this year-long program where doctors can get the training of how to deal with the disease,” says Kasteler-Calio noting they’ve committed to a total of four fellowships over four years.
As far as funding goes, “we had and continue to have great support from his fans and from his estate, and that is enough to get us started,” says Chapin. “But we need and welcome more people to participate.”
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Now, as their memories of Perry sustain them, his former team (including business manager Lisa Ferguson, who serves as the Foundation’s secretary treasurer), stays focused on the task ahead. “We spent so much of our careers helping him achieve the things he wanted to achieve, that, I believe, in his absence, we are achieving his primary goal of wanting to be remembered for helping people,” says Chapin.
“And just knowing, frankly, how he would feel about what we’re doing, that means everything to me,” adds Kasteler-Calio. “I just know that he would be blown away by the work we’re doing.”
For more information and to donate, visit the Matthew Perry Foundation.
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