Press and Media

Blackburn’s founder and leadership regularly speak about addiction, recovery and what it takes to build a life in long-term sobriety. Here are recent interviews and features.

Addiction Recovery Is Broken: Here’s How We Fix It

The Peak of Possibility Podcast, January 2026. Robert Patrick, founder of Blackburn Recovery Services, and Nathan James, who oversees Blackburn’s additional recovery services, sit down with host Glynis Franz to talk about the addiction epidemic, the gaps in today’s treatment system and what real, long-term support looks like. They also discuss the treatment scholarships offered by The Blackburn Foundation.

Key points from the conversation

• Robby and Nathan met through music in Los Angeles when Robby was newly sober. Both are lifelong musicians, and creativity became part of how each of them rebuilt his life in recovery.
• Nathan grew up in Culver City and got sober at 21, a few doors from the first Blackburn sober living house. As he puts it, it is possible to get sober in the same place you used.
• Both say the internal work of recovery has to come first. Creativity, career and purpose grow out of it, and Blackburn pushes residents to discover what gives them purpose once they are sober.
• Fear is the biggest thing that holds people back, and a consistent daily practice is what keeps people moving forward anyway.
• Only about 10% of people who need addiction treatment in the U.S. can access it. The Blackburn Foundation exists to say yes to more of them, reviewing each application and funding up to 12 months of care at programs across the country, chosen for the person rather than for Blackburn.
• Robby began working in sober living in 2012 and founded Blackburn in 2014 with one house. Robby credits working “one person at a time” with helping grow hundreds of sober living beds for men across West Los Angeles since then.

“If I can help 10 people in a year that otherwise would not have been able to get sober or have access to quality treatment, then that is 10 more people that are not homeless on the streets.”

Robby Patrick

Surviving the Darkness: Addiction to Impact

Against All Odds Podcast, Episode 51, July 2025. Robert Patrick shares his own story of addiction and recovery, and how it led him to found Blackburn and The Blackburn Foundation to help others get into long-term treatment.

Key points from the conversation

• Robby grew up in Seattle, left high school to play music and spent years touring and recording, including with a signed punk band in New York, while his addiction to heroin, alcohol and other drugs grew.
• After repeated hospital stays and county detoxes, he reached his lowest point. A phone call for help, and the nonprofit MusiCares, got him into a sober living home in West Los Angeles. His sobriety date is April 24, 2010.
• He got sober through the 12 steps and, through his first sponsor, “fell in love with the idea of service.” He opened his first sober living house at about a year and a half sober.
• Blackburn’s approach: a safe place to live, real community with other men, 12-step work, and enough time to heal. Robby notes that a 30-day stay is rarely enough and that the first year is crucial.
• He started The Blackburn Foundation after his aunt, a psychologist with 40 years in recovery, passed away in 2020, so that when someone calls and cannot afford care, the answer can still be yes.

“Most people need a long enough runway and enough time where they can really heal, where they can create community, where they can figure out a real solution. That does not happen in a month.”

Robby Patrick

About Robby Patrick

Robby Patrick is the founder of Blackburn Recovery Services, co-founder of Blackburn Clinical Services, and founder and president of The Blackburn Foundation. Since entering the behavioral health field, he has focused on building practical, comprehensive systems of support for individuals and families navigating substance use, mental health challenges, treatment and long-term recovery.

• Blackburn Recovery Services, founded 2014. Structured sober living and sober apartments for men in West Los Angeles, with mentoring, case management, aftercare monitoring, drug and alcohol testing, and family support.
• Blackburn Clinical Services, co-founded 2025. An outpatient mental health practice in West Los Angeles offering psychiatry, individual and family therapy, adolescent services, neuropsychological testing and outpatient detox support.
• The Blackburn Foundation, founded 2023. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has raised approximately $1.95 million and provided more than $1.65 million in treatment scholarships to over 100 people, and is opening the Creative Arts Community Center in Culver City.

More from The Blackburn Group

For press about our clinical team, including features on Blackburn Clinical Services CEO Nadea Egan, visit the Blackburn Clinical Services press page.

Media inquiries

For interviews, podcast appearances or speaking requests, email info@blackburnrecoveryservices.com or call (888) 305-5422.