David Chiasson, whose hope for life wavered at the age of 25, was an intelligent, highly sensitive, and profoundly humane individual. At 22, some time after returning from a long journey to India, tormented by an inner emptiness and a sense of life withering away within him, he entered rehabilitation therapy. He emerged sober and abstinent. He won a first battle, but not the war.

Like a wounded soldier on the lonely road of life, he gradually returned to his world—a fragile one. He struggled to hold on to hope. He relapsed once, then again. In 2000, under the influence of his drug of choice, he took his own life. David loved surrounding himself with people who understood the suffering and despair of addiction. He sometimes lived with friends who were still grappling with dependency issues. As much as he enjoyed being with them, he also wished he could help them.

It was his tragic loss that inspired his father to create Cocoon Homes.