Founded by Matthew Shay, an experienced substance abuse counselor, Lotus offers an individualized approach to recovery tailored to the needs of each resident. Lotus offers the benefits of living in a safe Chicago neighborhood combined with the support needed for a successful recovery. 

Matthew has multiple years of experience in substance abuse counseling, including intake assessments, screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) in hospital setting, residential treatment, outpatient treatment and both individual and group treatment. He has worked extensively with individuals with co-occurring mental health disorders and trauma. Extensive work with individuals experiencing homelessness. Expertise in 12-step programming with understanding that alternate approaches may better assist one in their individual recovery process. 

Matthew is a Licensed Social Worker (LSW), and a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC). He develops a strong rapport with his residents and firmly believes in the importance maintaining mental health and a non-judgmental approach to counseling with an emphasis on addressing trauma with utilization of evidence based practices such and Trauma Informed Care (TIC) and Motivational Interviewing (MI)

 

Prior to founding Lotus, Matthew spent time as a counselor at Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army.