05/23/2025
💙💙💙 I will miss this man very much 💙💙💙
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of George Braucht's passing. George passed yesterday doing what he loves, teaching the latest group of CARES how to sit on the other side of silence.
This is a huge loss to George's family, friends, and our whole community. George brought strength, compassion, wisdom, and heart to everything he did. He taught all of us to think deeper, seek justice, and not accept the status quo. He taught us to listen without judgement, practice intentionally not knowing, and to practice empathy in its truest form. The passing of George is a huge loss to our community. I trust our community will move forward honoring George by spreading love and compassion everywhere we go.
We have been in touch with George's family about how they would like to honor his life and legacy. As we move forward navigating this loss, we will work with the community to plan a memorial for our friend, George.
In the meantime, we ask that you help us show some love to George's sweetie, Jane Braucht, during her time of heartache. George loved Jane deeply. He drove home to have lunch with her during his lunch break of every CARES Academy. They have stood by each other's sides for decades. We'll compile the stories and share them with Jane.
Share Your Stories
We will be hosting an All Recovery Meeting tomorrow, Friday, May 23, at 12:00 for anyone that would like to attend:
All Recovery Meeting Link
Meeting ID: 811 6188 6685
CARES: Please take a few moments to read the attached letter for your homework assignment.
“…That roar which lies on the other side of silence”… If you know, you know. The recovery advocacy community lost a giant this week. George Braucht left this world on May 21st while doing what he loved most – teaching people in recovery how to be compassionate, caring coaches for peers who are seeking or in recovery. Whether he was quoting author George Eliot from Middlemarch or a neuroscientific study about the effects of dopamine on our behavioral priorities, George taught us to understand that even the most mundane aspects of our existence are filled with significance and connection. George was a lifelong learner and a great teacher who was a constant presence in all things CARES. George Braucht was someone who genuinely loved his work. And his work often took him away from his beloved family. If you heard him teach, you heard how proud he was to be a father, a grandfather and a great grandfather. He often spoke of his utter love for his wife, Jane, and of her talent for making things more beautiful. George loved music almost as much as he loved his dear family. He literally provided the soundtrack for CARES and any training event he was part of. George was passionate about fighting for the rights and the recovery of people coming out of incarceration and institutionalization. He taught us how to meet everyone “where they are”. He knew that people in recovery from mental illness and substance use are in a unique and privileged position to hear the cry of those who are still suffering, and he taught us to listen with our hearts. As he taught us the importance of us knowing our history as a recovery community, George often spoke of “the ancients” – those who have gone before us on this journey of Life. He always honored those who, in the past, helped create more ways for all people to find a life of wellness, purpose and recovery. And he challenged us all to take what we’ve learned and move the journey ever forward.
So, as our hearts break and we adjust to him being gone from this side of Life, I challenge you to honor the tremendous impact that George Braucht has left on our community by giving you some homework, iykyk. And that homework is to:
• Live your lives doing what you love.
• Center the principles of recovery in all you do.
• Listen with your hearts.
• Honor the Ancients by remembering and speaking their names
• Stay connected with each other.
• Never stop learning.
"Nobody else has the set of talents, skills, and abilities that you have, and for that we truly are grateful"
-George Braucht
