It is with great sadness that Phoenix House California mourns the loss of Dr. Mitchell Rosenthal M.D., better known as “Mitch”. He was instrumental in the early formation of Phoenix House and championed approaches that paved the way drug treatment care was done. He committed his life to supporting those most vulnerable within the addiction spectrum. In the early formation of Phoenix House in 1967, he was serving as deputy commissioner of New York City’s Addiction Services Agency, later resigning his position to completely commit to the fight against addiction and lead Phoenix House as the leading drug treatment center in the United States.
Since then, he continued to work in advisory councils, as a White House advisor on drug abuse, and lecturer at Columbia University. Shortly after stepping down from Phoenix House leadership in 2007, he continued to work in the field with the creation of the Rosenthal Center for Addiction Studies.
His legacy and contributions live on day to day in the work that we all continue to do at Phoenix House California.
We celebrate his life and work in our field.