Matthew Perry Foundation launched to help people struggling with addiction

Beloved actor Matthew Perry was laid to rest on Friday at a Los Angeles cemetery in a memorial attended by relatives and his "Friends" co-stars Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer. 

Mourners congregated at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills area, less than a mile from the Warner Brothers studio where the show was shot. It also serves as the ultimate resting place for many Hollywood celebrities, including Michael Jackson, Lucille Ball, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Matthew Perry's close friends took up an initiative to help people who are struggling with addiction by establishing the Matthew Perry Foundation. 

Perry's friends formed the organisation to honour the "Friends" star who himself suffered from substance abuse and thrived in helping others on this long and perilous journey of recovery to a normal life. 

The Matthew Perry Foundation's website went up on Friday. "The Matthew Perry Foundation is the realisation of Matthew's enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction. It will be inspired by his thoughts and experiences, as well as his desire to make a difference in as many lives as possible," read the official statement. 

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A black-and-white portrait of Perry is also featured on the foundation's website, along with an inspiring quote about his lifelong desire to help others.

"I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing mentioned when I die; I want 'Helping Others' to be the first thing mentioned. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving it," he said on the Q With Tom Power podcast in November 2022. 

"Addiction is simply too powerful for anyone to overcome on their own. But we can beat it down one day at a time if we work together," read the statement.