In the 2003 book “Regarding the Pain of Others,” Susan Sontag wrote, “Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers.” To that end, while it’s inevitable that we continue to grieve Perry, it’s urgent that we uplift the activism he dedicated the better part of the past 15 years to in equal measure.
In 2011, Perry joined forces with Martin Sheen to lobby Congress to support the funding of drug courts. These specialized court docket programs aim to supplant incarceration and punishment as the de facto response to drug-related criminal offenses with treatment and monitored accountability. “Every day drug courts look beyond the chaos and the wreckage and see the humanity that has been stifled by addiction.” That could as easily be a description of Perry’s approach to advocacy.
While it only lasted for two years, Perry made the radical move of converting his expansive Malibu home into a drug treatment and recovery center in 2013. Dozens of individuals in Perry’s life and even tagnentially connected to him have gone on record with stories of Perry providing life-saving support, and he was recently on record announcing his intention to establish a foundation to further help those struggling with addiction. After his passing, his friends and family have done just that. The Matthew Perry Foundation describes itself as “the realization of Matthew’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction.” Perry reportedly wanted his legacy to expand beyond just “Friends,” to the impact he made on the lives of those working to get clean. And so it shall be. Matthew, we will remember it all.