Gary Storch freely admits that he would not be alive today if it wasn’t for Rosary Hall at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. He started drinking at the age of 15 and came to Rosary Hall in the late 1970s at the age of 18. He was without health insurance and without money to pay for much-needed alcohol addiction treatment—and without hope.

At the time, he couldn’t hold a job because he could not stop drinking. He would wake up shaking and throwing up, before heading to the store to get more liquor and repeat the cycle all over.

“I was hopeless in my own heart. I did not know what to do. I thought alcohol was what I needed to feel better. I needed help to stop,” said Gary.

His realization led him to seek help at a treatment facility on Cleveland’s near west side, but they were full. An employee there made a call to Rosary Hall, who accepted him despite his inability to pay. While at Rosary Hall for intensive inpatient treatment, he went through detox, attended group sessions, and discovered the power of prayer and spirituality.

A Seed of Faith

“As a faith-based facility, Rosary Hall planted a seed of faith in me that a higher power would sustain me. Before, I would tell God how big my problems were. With the seed of faith planted, I started telling my problems how big my God is,” Gary said.

After successfully completing the program, he started attending regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He joined the U.S. Army about a year later and was stationed in Germany. A work-related injury led him back to self-medicating with alcohol. He eventually left the Army and again had trouble holding a job. He went back to AA meetings and returned to his faith.

On a trip to Nevada, Gary met his future wife Patty. He returned home, but they kept in touch and a year later, he returned to Nevada. Gary and Patty both shared a strong faith in God and were married in Las Vegas in 1992, where they lived for more than 20 years. Unfortunately, Patty passed away in 2013 from complications from diabetes. Gary returned to Cleveland not long after. He is now retired from the Army with a service-connected disability. In 2017, he wrote and published a book about addiction and AA, and chose to donate the proceeds to Rosary Hall. He recently wrote a check to Rosary Hall for $2,000.

Gary, now 58, decided he wanted to do more to show his gratitude and approached Rosary Hall about giving half of his life savings to the program upon his death for patients that cannot afford the inpatient detoxification program or don’t have insurance. Rather than waiting, he was moved to write a $50,000 check a few days later to establish the Gary and Patty Storch Endowment at Rosary Hall.

Creating a Lasting Impact

The endowment creates a legacy that will last beyond Gary’s lifetime, with investment income supporting uninsured and under-insured patients to help them get treatment.

“Gary's gift to establish an endowment leaves a permanent legacy for both Gary and his late wife, Patty, and it will also have a tremendous impact on the patients we serve for many years to come,” said Mark Cotleur, senior vice president, fund development, Sisters of Charity Health System. “St. Vincent Charity and Rosary Hall are worthy of generous philanthropic support. The legacy of caring and compassion at St. Vincent Charity extends back nearly 155 years, and the legacy of Rosary Hall extends more than 65 years. Through the establishment of the Gary and Patty Storch Endowment, they are now truly part of that wonderful legacy.”

Orlando Howard, director of outpatient treatment services/quality improvement at Rosary Hall, said Gary’s generosity reminds him of the parable of a man who had fallen in a hole and couldn’t get out. “People would walk by and say, ‘I’ll be right back with help.’ Finally one passerby jumped in the hole. The man in the hole asks, ‘Why did you jump in? Now we’re both in trouble.’ The man who jumped in turns and says, ‘Because I’ve been here before and know how to get out,’” related Orlando. “Gary is a man who really remembers where he came from and where he was on that terrible day when he needed help. He knows his generous gift will help others get out of the same hole he was once in.”

Gary acknowledged that he has had missteps along the way, but he said Rosary Hall laid the foundation for where he is today, which is sober for more than four years, attending regular AA meetings and being able to leave a lasting legacy at the program that showed him much love many years ago.

“At Rosary Hall, I began working on what was wrong. I wouldn’t have freedom or be alive without it. The program does work and it starts with one step every day,” said Gary. “This gift is pure gratitude for the demonstration of charity and love that was shown to me and continues to be shown to the most vulnerable.”

About Rosary Hall

Rosary Hall at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland has been at the forefront of treating alcoholism and drug dependency for more than 65 years. At Rosary Hall, patients and their families find the road to freedom in a recovery process that’s compassionate, comprehensive and one of the best in the country. In fact, Rosary Hall is the only addiction treatment center in the region to provide a full spectrum of the most current treatment options, from hospital detoxification to community-based rehabilitation, to the latest medication-assisted treatments.

To reach Rosary Hall, call 216-363-2580 and press 4 to speak with a caregiver immediately.