When I was 19 years old, I sought help. I remember sitting in my mother’s kitchen and typing into an internet search engine “Gay men’s rehab” and clicking on the first link that appeared. When selecting a substance abuse treatment center, my physical safety as a queer person was obviously paramount, therein finding an accepting therapeutic environment was imperative. When I arrived at the treatment center, I was surprised to discover that I was one of three out queer people in a large treatment facility full of sixty heterosexual, cisgendered men. In that environment and at that age, I immediately shut down; it felt like high school all over again. It felt like I was being exposed to an identical environment as the one I started using drugs in when I was 13 years old. In short, the environment was not conducive to me feeling understood, accepted, nor celebrated. Seven years would pass before I would cobble together more than six months sober.
About Me
Mell McCracken, CADC II, RACS, ASAT, (they/them) is the executive director at No Matter What Recovery Center in Los Angeles. They are a fierce is a fierce advocate for healing and transformation through substance abuse counseling, sex addiction therapy, and treatment program development. They have extensive expertise in empowering individuals to overcome their struggles with addiction and navigate the complexities of chemsex in the rainbow community. They are a nationally and internationally recognized LGBTQ+ educator, co-author, and treatment provider.
Jack Moll, CADC II, is a case manager turned program director. He has found his passion in serving the LGBTQ+ demographic in dual-diagnosis treatment and strives to work toward dismantling the barriers to treatment that the special population faces. Based in Los Angeles, Jack is a case manager turned program director and currently works with No Matter What Recovery.