It is with broken hearts that we announce Raymond “John” Gutenson passed peacefully this morning surrounded by his family. John started with CRA in 2000 as a volunteer, working with his best friend Dan Bigg to build out the program into what it is today. Quite literally, John helped ‘build out the program’ by building the interior of the infamous silver outreach vans, working alongside his friends Dan and Josch.
Inspired by a similar program in Las Vegas, Chicago Recovery Alliance, a non-profit harm reduction organization who provide syringe exchange and overdose prevention services, had been toying with the idea of putting up vending machines offering naloxone and safer use supplies for a long time. Dan Bigg, the alliance’s founder, used to talk about it regularly before his death in 2018, according to Karen Bigg, Chicago Recovery Alliance’s director of community relationships.
On September 24th, the CRA Board of Directors terminated the employment of former Executive Director, Brandie Wilson. After receiving several letters of grievance from current and former staff over the course of a few months, coupled with a demonstrated inability to perform the tasks required in her role and a leadership style that fostered tension, harassment, and hostility among staff, it became apparent that Brandie is not a good fit for CRA.
Stephan (Steve) Kamenicky, born August 24, 1957, also known as “Ponytail Steve” by the many thousands of people he has helped over the years, passed away last Friday, July 31st, 2020 from presumed natural causes.
