Andrew Kukes Foundation

Friendship Circle recently partnered with Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety to expand its reach and scope of its projects. UMatter is proud to be working with AKFSA to help tell Andy’s story and to spread the word that UMatter.

Andrew Kukes’s eight year battle with severe depression ended on July 14, 2009 when he took his own life at only 30-years-old. Andy suffered from social anxiety and the common co-occurring condition of depression, brought on by this little known and often misunderstood disorder, for the majority of his young adult life.

The Andrew Kukes Foundation for Social Anxiety was founded by Andy’s parents, Patricia Kukes and Jeffrey Kukes with the hope that with proper education, awareness and support, other families will benefit and be saved from the pain caused by the loss of a loved one, and that those who suffer from social anxiety can find balance and peace in their lives.

To learn more about the Andrew Kukes Foundation, visit www.akfsa.org.

UMatter

Teens

The mission of the Daniel B. Sobel Friendship House, a division of Friendship Circle, is based on the teachings of Lubavitcher Rebbe of blessed memory. He constantly encouraged us to remember that within each person is a soul, and that that soul is equal and worthy of boundless love. It is his belief that none of us are complete unless all of us are included.

UMatter, built upon this idea, focuses specifically on teens that are struggling. Under the guidance of Rabbi Yarden Blumstein, UMatter operates on a peer-to-peer model of teens helping their peers overcome stigmas and other obstacles related to mental health.