Mike Fakhoury

I was born in San Francisco in 1961, raised by a single mom who came here from Jordan. Early on, I found out that my problems disappeared when I was drunk or loaded on some kind of drug. By my twenties, I was a serious heroin addict and totally out of control. Since I grew up near them, the first program I looked at was Delancey Street. When I was told I would have to make a two-year commitment, work, and all the rest of it, I went instead to live at home and attend daily NA meetings. That lasted about a week and a half. I stopped going just before the results of my drug test came in since I never stopped using.

A few months later I was accepted into Delancey Street. My idea was to stay around thirty days or so. I’d be clean and out of contact with my drug buddies. I thought at the time that should do the trick. Not too long into it I realized how bad a shape I really was in. I also noticed that the people that really seemed to have the character traits that I wanted had been at Delancey Street around four years. It was right then I decided I would stay that long as well.

Seven and a half years later, countless miseries, many more successes and more opportunities to explore than any one person should be entitled, I graduated. Since then I’ve operated a successful business for close to two decades, the Bean There Café in the lower Haight neighborhood in San Francisco. I have been married to my amazing wife Susanna for over ten years, and have two children, Layla and Luke. I have also been able to live my life with dignity, pride, and enjoyment. I wouldn’t have this life – or maybe any at all – if I hadn’t gone to Delancey Street.

Mike Fakhoury with wife Suzanna and their two children, Layla and Luke.