In Honor of Shawn Pennestri - My Hero

As many of you may know, our older brother Shawn passed away from the disease of addiction on February 20,2022. My brother was not just an addict . He was a hard working, lovable and the most genuine and caring person you could have met. Shawn was my soulmate and my best friend who made every single day filled with laughs and positivity. As a sister of an addict, I need to make sure my hero didn’t die in vain. My family, Shawn’s loved ones and I are full of despair and heartache, as you can imagine. I would like something positive to come from Shawn’s death. I desperately want his death to help save the lives of those in similar situations as Shawn.

In honor of Shawn, I’m choosing to donate every dollar raised to Transpire Help. Transpire Help is a non-profit organization founded in 2016 to assist LGBTQ+ people who are committed to living free from drug addiction and/or alcoholism. They aspire to connect individuals to the care and resources necessary to create a solid foundation for a healthy and fulfilling life in recovery. This non-profit serves as a fundraising organization committed to re-directing financial support to help LGBTQ+ individuals within substance use treatment to be able to afford housing, treatment, life-saving medications, food, clothes for job interviews and as well as providing LGBTQIA+ education to institutions, hospitals and treatment centers. We strive to connect individuals in recovery to mental health services and assist with establishing long-term sober-living housing for the LGBTQ community.
This organization is the only one of its kind that aims to address the very specific needs my brother needed help with the most. Their love and support helped him achieve the blissful happiness, acceptance for himself, and most importantly, the love for himself that I knew he always deserved. This non-profit helped Shawn make his way into Inspire Recovery, which I found out is the only LGBTQ treatment facility in the entire United States.

This was a place he quickly called home. He created a life beyond his wildest dreams, all because of the love and care Inspire Recovery offered him. Addiction brings shame, and slowly but surely it was so clear in my eyes that that shame was slowly dissipating and was being replaced with confidence. I was so blind that other LGBTQ people who are seeking treatment aren’t as lucky. Treatment is so expensive, and that community, my brothers community, has little or no access to the care Inspire offers due to the financial responsibility. Transpire Help was launched for this exact reason. I believe in all my heart that in Shawn’s name, we can make a huge impact to help those like him, who aren’t able to afford the help they so desperately just by donating to Transpire Help.

All I wanted was for my big brother to be sober and happy. Inspire Recovery made my biggest wish a reality. Shawn had accomplished a lot of his goals after graduating the program, I could not believe my brother made the leaps of progress that he did. He had genuine friends, who always had his best interest at heart. He attended 12 step meetings daily, not because he had to, but because he wanted to. My brother took sponsees through the 12 step program. If that’s not enough, he also had finally obtained the independence that he craved so badly. I watched my brother fall in love and harvest a healthy and meaningful relationship. He eventually moved into a beautiful apartment steps away from the beach, which obviously, I was obsessed with going to every chance I got. Shawn even purchased his first car with money he earned from a job that he loved. He earned the trust of his family back, took frequent trips and vacations, and quickly learned that going on cruises was the only way he wanted to vacation. Shawn maintained this life for 3 whole years, before succumbing to this disease.

 

Shawn was a huge advocate for Transpire Help and believed in all the work they do for others. He believed in them so much that he volunteered so much of his time to support and raise money for them, since they are volunteer based. I want my brother's death to help others In need. This is why I’m asking that in lieu of flowers and gifts, you donate whatever you can to Transpire Help, because I know that’s all Shawn would have wanted.

 

Thank you for taking your time to read this and in keeping his best memories alive and well.

Love,

His Sister Shayna
His Brother Kyle
His Brother Nick.

 

 

Thank you for your compassion and kindness.