Prevention · Awareness · Education
Prevention happens long before a crisis.
Addicted To Life is a San Jose nonprofit working on substance use prevention, mental health awareness, and community education — the quiet, everyday work of making sure fewer people reach a breaking point on their own.
We are an education and awareness organisation. We do not provide medical treatment, counselling, or emergency services.
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit
- EIN 84-2025268
- San Jose, California
- Tax-exempt since June 2019
Our mission
Fewer people reaching a breaking point alone.
Addicted To Life exists to reduce the harm of alcohol and drug use in our community through prevention, education, and mental health awareness — and to make asking for help feel earlier, easier, and less lonely than it usually does.
The name is deliberate. Conversations about addiction tend to begin at the worst moment, framed around what someone has lost. We would rather begin somewhere else: with the ordinary, unglamorous work of information, connection, and community — and with the assumption that a full life is what everyone here is working toward.
What we focus on
Six areas, one idea: get there before the crisis does.
Our work follows the organisation's registered purpose — prevention, mental health awareness, and community education. Each area below is a lens on the same goal.
Substance use prevention
Clear, non-judgemental information about alcohol and drug use, shared before a crisis rather than after one.Mental health awareness
Reducing stigma around mental health so that asking for support feels normal, early, and safe.Healthy decision-making
Practical skills for young people: handling pressure, weighing consequences, and knowing where to turn.Families and caregivers
Support for the people who notice first — parents, guardians, siblings, and friends.Community education
Working alongside neighbourhoods, schools, and local groups so prevention is a shared responsibility.A recovery-supportive community
Recognising that recovery is common, ongoing, and made easier by a community that expects it.
How we work
A simple sequence, repeated.
There is no clever method here. Prevention work is mostly about turning up consistently and saying accurate things in a way people can actually hear.
Listen first
Understand what a particular community is actually worried about, rather than assuming the problem in advance.
Share plainly
Put accurate prevention and mental health information into ordinary language, without scare tactics or shame.
Connect onward
Point people toward licensed professionals and established services, and be clear about what we are not.
Keep showing up
Prevention is not a campaign. It works because the same message is available on an ordinary day, again and again.
Being clear about scope
An awareness organisation — and honest about where that ends.
Knowing exactly what an organisation does is part of trusting it. Here is the boundary, stated plainly.
What Addicted To Life does
- Prevention education about alcohol and drug use
- Mental health awareness and stigma reduction
- Community education and shared vocabulary
- Signposting to licensed and government services
- Support for families, caregivers, and friends
What we leave to professionals
- Medical treatment, detoxification, or medication
- Therapy, clinical counselling, or diagnosis
- Emergency or 24-hour crisis response
- Rehabilitation or residential programmes
- Individual medical advice of any kind
For anything in this column, a licensed professional or a national service is the right place to go. We are glad to point the way.
Transparency
The details you can check for yourself.
Every figure below is a matter of public record with the IRS. We would rather publish four verifiable facts than a wall of impressive numbers.
- Designation
- 501(c)(3)
- Public charity
- EIN
- 84-2025268
- Employer Identification Number
- Tax-exempt since
- 2019
- June 2019
- Based in
- San Jose
- California, United States
We have chosen not to publish impact statistics until we can document them. When programme figures are verified, they will appear here with the method used to collect them.
If you need help now
Where to turn — operated by others, not by us.
Addicted To Life does not provide crisis or clinical services. These national services do, around the clock, at no cost.
If someone is in immediate danger
Emergency services
Call 911
For a medical emergency, an overdose, or any situation where someone's life is in immediate danger.
Opens 911.gov(opens in a new tab)
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988
Free, confidential support 24 hours a day for people in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, and for those worried about someone else.
Opens 988lifeline.org(opens in a new tab)
Finding professional help and information
SAMHSA National Helpline
1-800-662-HELP (4357)
A free, confidential, 24/7 treatment referral and information service, in English and Spanish, run by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Opens samhsa.gov(opens in a new tab)
FindTreatment.gov
findtreatment.gov
The federal directory of licensed treatment facilities for substance use and mental health, searchable by location and by what you need.
Opens findtreatment.gov(opens in a new tab)
MentalHealth.gov
mentalhealth.gov
Plain-language federal guidance on mental health basics, what treatment involves, and how to talk to someone you are worried about.
Opens samhsa.gov(opens in a new tab)
These are national services operated independently of Addicted To Life. We list them because they are the right destination for clinical care and crisis support — needs this organisation does not and cannot meet.
Get involved
Three ways to make prevention work possible.
Small, local organisations run on attention, time, and money — usually in that order.
Support the mission
Contributions fund the materials, time, and community education that prevention work depends on. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.See how giving works
Give your time
Awareness work needs people who can write, translate, organise, design, or simply show up consistently in their own neighbourhood.Volunteer with us
Pass it on
The cheapest prevention there is: forward something accurate to someone who needs it, before they go looking for it themselves.Share what you learn
Questions
The things people ask first.
If your question is not here, the contact form reaches us directly.
No. Addicted To Life is a prevention, education, and awareness nonprofit. We do not provide medical care, therapy, clinical counselling, detoxification, medication, rehabilitation, or emergency crisis services. If you need clinical care, a licensed provider or one of the national services listed on this site is the right place to start.
Prevention means sharing clear, accurate information before a crisis — about risk, about mental health, about how to talk to someone you are worried about, and about where qualified help exists. It is education and awareness work, not intervention.
Anyone in the community: young people, parents and caregivers, educators, and people who are supporting someone they care about. Nothing here assumes a diagnosis or a label.
Call 911. If someone is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text, 24 hours a day. Both are external services operated by others, not by Addicted To Life.
Yes. Addicted To Life is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation, recognised as tax-exempt since June 2019, with EIN 84-2025268. It is registered at 19040 Graystone Ln, San Jose, CA 95120.
Contributions to Addicted To Life are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Please keep your receipt and consult a tax professional about your own circumstances.
Use the contact form on the Contact page. It reaches the organisation directly. We publish a contact form rather than an inbox address so that messages are not harvested by spammers.
Yes — tell us what you would like to contribute using the contact form, and include how much time you have and what you are good at. Volunteering opportunities depend on what is running at the time.
Have a question, or something to offer?
Whether you are looking for information, want to volunteer, or represent a school or community group — write to us. Messages go straight to the organisation.