Bringing Help, Bringing Hope

As we continue to face a drug issue of epidemic proportion in our community, I want to take a moment to show appreciation for all people who are involved on the front lines of this fight.

With the message of “Bringing Help, Bringing Hope. Thank You.” this week of April 6-13, across Ohio, communities are expressing thanks and gratitude to the people who spend their days working tirelessly to help save lives fighting the opiate epidemic. From police, EMS/Fire, mental health and addiction agencies, teachers, courts, probation officers, hospitals, primary care physicians and nurses, case workers, and many others who are in the helping professions, these individuals directly assist those that they serve engage in treatment and achieve recovery, support children and families impacted by this disease, promote prevention activities, and build strong, resilient communities.

In addition, we want to especially recognize the family members who struggle on a daily basis to help their loved ones get healthy and stay in recovery. The love and support from family members is often the most important factor in someone obtaining help for their substance use disorder.

Every sector of society is impacted by addiction and this epidemic and it’s going to take every part of every community to develop a solution to this problem. In our county, the Portage Substance Abuse Community Coalition works to address this community health issue.

Through this work, we’ll continue to bring hope to our community and build the understanding that Treatment Works and People Recover.

Joel Mowrey, PhD Executive Director, Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County