Meet Anya Schwab | Co-Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anya Schwab and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anya, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
My non profit, Sam Risso Foundation was founded with the intentions to help the overlooked and under served population in our community. Our mission is to provide resources, guidance, and support to individuals struggling with addiction, homelessness, and mental health illnesses.

From making care packages filled with basic hygiene necessities for the homeless to connecting addicts with resources for detox, treatment, halfway housing and everything in between, our goal is to give these people the help they so desperately need.

Since our start in May of 2021 we have made and handed out over 300 basic hygiene care packages to those experiencing homelessness. We have been able to provide transitional housing and peer support to over 60 participants. And we’ve provided access to detox and treatment to 40 people seeking recovery.

Every single day we are working towards bettering our community and helping those in need.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In our society the population of addicts and homeless individuals have long been overlooked. As someone who is in recovery I am extremely proud that I have built the opportunity for myself to be able to help and support these people.

It wasn’t easy starting a non-profit from the ground up. I put in hours of extensive research and was able to compile a step by step list of everything we had to do from start to finish in order to get the non-profit up and running. The two of us alone were able to turn this dream into a reality and now we’re here making a change in our community.

Something I’m excited about is all the new work we have planned for 2022. We’re planning on starting our own halfway house. This will help provide more housing to individuals and provide us with the opportunity to work more closely with our participants. We’re partnering with more non-profits this year as well and that means more projects and more people we get to help. We also have a couple of fundraisers planned so far for the year. Starting with our Sober St Patty’s Party in March and then a silent auction in honor of International Overdose Awareness Day in August.

I want the wold to know that Sam Risso Foundation is here. We are here to help you, help your children, help anyone in your life that you know is struggling. We know what you are going through and we will be here every step of the way to help you, all you have to do is give us a call.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Since we are in Florida after all, a beach day would definitely be in order. Some other places we would visit would be the Art Deco district, the Wynwood Art District, Jungle Island, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Artech House, the Venetian Pool, and the Banksy Art Exhibit.

Some great places for food would be 7 Spices where you can also get some good hookah and sometimes they have live dancers. Some great rooftop restaurants I would take her to would be Watr at the 1 Rooftop and Serena Rooftop. Nobu and Santorini are also great choices.

And some good activities for after a nice dinner would be an escape room, axe throwing, and of course night clubs like Sway, E11EVEN and Space.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate a shoutout to two individuals.

The first is Sam Risso. The person who the non-profit was made in memory of. He was my close friend and mentor. He dedicated the last four years of his life to helping addicts. He would help relocate them, get them into treatment, pay for their halfways, etc. and do this all by himself and never expected anything in return. He showed me what it truly meant to give back and help others. In the weeks leading up to his death, he expressed interest in starting a non-profit. He knew he would be able to help so many more people if his mission was official and he had the support of others.

The second is Liz Chelak, one of my best friends and Sam’s fiance. Together we founded our non-profit, Sam Risso Foundation. Without her hard work, determination and support none of this would have been possible for us to achieve.

Website: www.samrissofoundation.org

Instagram: samrissofoundation

Facebook: Sam Risso Foundation