Denise and Gary Cullen’s only child, Jeff, died of an accidental overdose at the age of 27 after struggling with substance use disorder for more than 12 years.

Jeff went through 7 inpatient treatment facilities and several other alternative therapeutic programs. None of these were able to help Jeff, and he was failed by every system our society employs to “fix” people who suffer from this disorder.

Denise has worked as a Clinical Social Worker in the medical field since graduating from USC’s School of Social Work in 1993. Her expertise has been in HIV/AIDS, Harm Reduction, death, dying and grief. Her patient population included numerous intravenous drug users, so her experience with people who use drugs goes beyond her son’s personal journey. She learned about Harm Reduction through conferences she attended while working with clinic patients, and she brought that knowledge back to her colleagues and later practiced it while her son was struggling. She was also the Risk Reduction Counselor on the first phase 3 clinical trial for an HIV Vaccine, Genentech’s Vax Gen.

When Jeff died, his parents started the non-profit organization – Broken No More – to address the damage of stigma and failed, punitive drug policies that contributed to the death of their son and so many others. A short time later they took over GRASP, Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing. This organization is now part of Broken No More and consists of face-to-face support group meetings in 30 states and a very active and powerful private Facebook support system.