Community Highlights: Meet Leonard Buschel of Writers In Treatment

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leonard Buschel.

Hi Leonard, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the Logan neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I attended Philadelphia Community College and the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and received a substance-abuse counseling certificate from Los Angeles City College in 2005. In 2007, with my good friend Robert Downey, Sr., co-founded Writers in Treatment, which assists individuals in the writing profession suffering from addictions and unbalanced behaviors to receive scholarships and recommendations to reliable treatment facilities. I participate in numerous addiction and recovery conferences.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a bumpy as the back of a frog. For 23 years I couldn’t stop being a drug dealer. Even after getting robbed at gunpoint (one pointed at my head, the other my heart) my compulsion to travel to Miami once a month to purchase very high grade cocaine forced me to throw caution to the wind, just to make enough cash to have a family, tickets to every Stephen Sondheim show possible and buy a new Volvo every three years.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Writers In Treatment?
Writers in Treatment was applauded as a champion of recovery and the arts in Los Angeles by 7th District Councilmember, Richard Alarcon, from a Certificate of Recognition on behalf of the City of Los Angeles for helping men and women in the writing industry overcome substance abuse and mental health problems.

In 2015, I was named a recipient of the 2015 Acker Awards for Film Curation. The same year, Karen Bass presented me with the Congressional Certificate of Special Recognition from the United States Congress for my outstanding and invaluable services to the community.

The following year in 2016, I was given the Link Award by In Recovery Magazine for promoting recovery “using film, panel discussions, and speakers to understand and encourage compassion for people living with addictive disorders.”

The California Legislature Assembly awarded me their 2016 Certificate of Recognition with the following statement: “On behalf of the State of California and the residents of the 46th Assembly District, it is my honor to thank you for your outstanding work in promoting recovery among filmmakers with the Annual Reel Recovery Film Festival. Your dedication is an inspiration to us all and I wish you the best success on all your future endeavors.” Signed, Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, 46th Assembly District.[13]

Then in 2019, I received a Certificate of Recognition from The California State Assembly upon receiving the New Era Award, for my commitment to supporting substance abuse prevention and violence prevention programming.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Chant every morning for at least 15 minutes. Light some Japanese smokeless incense. Appreciate the aroma, and the miracle of having been born a human on Earth in the era of electricity and toilets everywhere. Have a goal you are non attached to. Be flexible with your thoughts and sexuality, Study religions and reject them all. Practice ZEN. It’s free and the monks have nice robes. Free Palestine if you can. Try not to eat any solid food after 7PM, unless you are at a good restaurant, and someone else is paying. NEVER eat at a fast food joint. Coca Cola is poison. Coffee and tea are holy. Write a memoir. I did. HIGH: From Cannabis to Clarity. Help as many people as you can. Say please and thank you. And MOST importantly of all, for a long and prosperous life, LOOK BOTH WAYS,

Pricing:

• FREE
• Sept.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.addictionrecoveryebulletin.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addictionrecoveryebulletin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardleebuschel/
• Youtube: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCxMhOFMU3TSZHkTTX8T-zXA/videos/upload?filter=%5B%5D&sort=%7B%22columnType%22%3A%22date%22%2C%22sortOrder%22%3A%22DESCENDING%22%7D
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=v1WIwD-gqcURkIIzVn5PXA
• Other: https://tinyurl.com/2enywvut