FAR was incorporated in Vermont in April 2008 and granted tax-exempt status from the IRS in July 2008. FAR was formed by people concerned about the limited help for those with the disease of alcoholism.
The idea for the Foundation for Alcoholism Research grew out of an experience lived over a few years by one of the three founders. She was part of a loosely organized team across six states that was helping a young, well-educated wife and mother who had become addicted to alcohol.
What struck this founder through those years was how little real help is available.
The founders looked for an organization to join (such as a Heart Fund or Cancer Society but for alcoholism) and were astonished to learn that there wasn’t one. So they started one.
One of FAR’s biggest helps came in the form of Pro Bono support from the law firm of Nutter McClennen, and Fish, Boston.MA. Through their help, FAR achieved non-profit IRS 501 (c) 3 status in record time. Nutter has also been there for help with grant award contracts and entertainment contracts.
FAR does not presume to know the answers to what help is need. The answers vary widely within the research, medical, and psychiatric communities. FAR funds research to find answers. FAR does not have preconceived ideas about the answers but will let the research lead us there.
In July 2009, FAR awarded its first grant to a Middlebury College neuroscience professor for research concerning tolerance of alcohol and its relationship to alcoholism. This was an add-on to a larger grant from other agencies.
In December 2011, FAR awarded its second grant to the University of Pennsylvania for research concerning the medication naltrexone. This was an add-on to a large NIH grant.
In June 2014, FAR awarded its third grant to the University of Pennsylvania for a pilot program testing baclofen – a promising medication to reduce craving.
There are many excellent rehab centers and they are doing the best with the tools that exist today. Celebrities can afford the best treatment there is, and yet, they return again and again to rehab centers. Recovery is far from guaranteed. We need better methods for prevention, prediction, and treatment.
