Where he lives: Near Belmont and Van Ness avenues
Occupation, age: Medical director of Aegis Medical Systems clinics in Fresno, Delano and Merced, 58
Family: He has been married to Chanah Cossman for 19 years. Their blended family includes four children: Gytana, 34, Aviv, 29, Eliah, 17, and Sigal, 15
Why should we know him? Lasher is volunteer medical director of the Fresno Free Medical Clinic, which he founded 12 years ago. The clinic provides care each Saturday, primarily to those served by a volunteer-run, drug needle-exchange program. Lasher and a team of about six volunteers work out of a large yellow-and-green school bus parked on West Hedges Avenue (near Olive and West avenues); many of the volunteers are studying medicine, and the clinic provides hands-on training. There also is a social worker on site, and referrals to rehab and detox program are given, Lasher says.
"We're repairing the world," he says. "We're doing what we can with the skills we all have, and we share those skills as a way to give back to the community."
Lasher was recognized Sunday at Hope Lutheran Church as the recipient of the 2008 Robinson Award for the Outstanding Advocate for the Common Good. The award is named for Carl and Esther Robinson, who have a long history of community service in Fresno. Fresno Metro Ministry, Interfaith Alliance of Central California and the Fresno Ministerial Association are founding sponsors of the event, which is in its fourth year.
What are some organizations he belongs to? Fresno-Madera Medical Society, Temple Beth Israel
What are his hobbies? Working in the yard, home repair projects
What would he like to share with others? "It's important that people contact their [Fresno County] supervisors to let them know there's a strong need for a legal needle exchange in our county so it stops the spread of AIDS and hepatitis and provides access to drug users to get into rehab programs," he says.
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