Launch of Matthew Perry foundation ‘bright light in a dark time,’ his mom says

Published Oct 21, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

The Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada, honouring the late Canadian actor and offering post-treatment support for those with substance disorders, was announced on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Photo by Jelani Rice

Matthew Perry’s legacy wish has become a reality.

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The Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada, offering post-treatment support for those with substance disorders, will be lead by his sister Caitlin.

No less of an introduction to the foundation came from Perry’s stepfather, Dateline correspondent Keith Morrison, on his X account on Monday morning.

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“This new thing is for sufferers everywhere — and for the families who love them,” wrote Morrison, who is married to Perry’s mother Suzanne.

“It’s how he wanted to be remembered, and so we will.”

Suzanne Morrison also wrote on matthewperryfoundation.ca that she was “so grateful” for the arrival of the foundation.

“Watching the birth and growth of the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada has been a bright light in a dark time,” she wrote.

“I know the foundation will have an impact, and I hope a big impact, in the fight against this heartbreaking, confusing and devastating disease. Addiction is a fierce illness. I have watched it entrap its victims and keep them in its grip. I watched my son try and try everything, every available treatment, and yet fall back again and again.”

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Of addiction, Suzanne wrote: “(It) tears its way through families, ruins friendships, destroys careers and cuts short lives that should have been long, productive and happy. That Matthew had the good fortune to be able to pay for the best current help, that he never had to wait in line for that help, and yet died so tragically in spite of it all is certainly proof of that.”

On its website, the foundation said its mission is “to mitigate the social and economic impact of addiction in Canada by funding emerging research and providing post-treatment wraparound support to people living with substance use disorders.”

It also provided a poignant quote from Perry himself, who said: “When I die, I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.”

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Suzanne wrote that her son wanted to help others with addiction as he exposed his own struggles in his 2023 book, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing; A Memoir, which he promoted before his death later that year.

“There are many thousands – millions – of individual stories of addiction in Canada, and those were the stories and the people on Matthew’s mind during the last days of his life,” wrote Suzanne.

“He wanted so much to help. He believed, and so do I, that there has to be a better way. I miss Matthew with every breath I take. And I am so proud of his sister Caitlin, as she helps lead the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada.”

On Oct. 28, 2023, Perry died at the age of 54 at his L.A. home from the acute effects of ketamine use and five people have now been charged in connection with helping him acquire lethal doses of the drug.

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