Crawford County Opiates Task Force receives grant to reduce addiction problem in the area

Sarah Ein­se­len

Judy Demo-Hodgins, co-chairwoman of the Craw­ford County Opi­ates Task Force, takes notes as dis­cus­sion com­mences about how to reduce opi­ate addic­tion in the county.

By SARAH EINSELEN

Inquirer Reporter

Twenty-five to 30 gov­ern­ment offi­cials, rep­re­sen­ta­tives from non­profit orga­ni­za­tions and recov­er­ing opi­ate addicts gath­ered Thurs­day night at the Bucyrus pub­lic library to plan how to solve Craw­ford County’s opi­ate addic­tion prob­lem. They are act­ing as part of the Craw­ford County Opi­ate Task Force, orga­nized by the Crawford-Marion Board of Alco­hol, Drug Addic­tion and Men­tal Health Ser­vices. Thursday’s meet­ing was the sec­ond Craw­ford County task force meet­ing. The task force aims to reduce opi­ate addic­tion in the county, includ­ing heroin addiction.

Dr. Stephen Novack, Galion city health com­mis­sioner, said Galion alone sees six to seven peo­ple a year die from drug over­doses. He sus­pected that two Galion deaths in the past week were likely drug-related, though com­plete autop­sies and reports will not be avail­able for at least six months.

Novack had told the Galion city coun­cil at its March 8 meet­ing that drug addic­tion was the sin­gle most impor­tant issue fac­ing the city now, and Galion police chief Brian Sater­field backed him up then, say­ing that Craw­ford County had the third high­est per capita drug over­dose death rate in Ohio.

Joe, a recov­er­ing addict active in area recov­ery and reha­bil­i­ta­tion efforts, said at the task force meet­ing that the need was imme­di­ate, espe­cially among youngsters.

“We see peo­ple in their late teens that are des­per­ate and dying,” he said. He wished to remain anony­mous because of his asso­ci­a­tion with the recov­ery community.

Jody Demo-Hodgins, exec­u­tive direc­tor of Crawford-Marion ADAMH, co-chairs the task force with Mary Jo Carle to deal with the prob­lem. Demo-Hodgins is also a mem­ber of the statewide opi­ate task force. She obtained a $12,000 grant from the Ohio Depart­ment of Alco­hol and Drug Addic­tion Ser­vices, to be split between Craw­ford and Mar­ion coun­ties. The two coun­ties also expect to receive at least another $12,000 from the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Com­mu­nity Ini­tia­tives, which is draw­ing on $1 mil­lion set aside from the Tem­po­rary Assis­tance to Needy Fam­i­lies pro­gram funds.

The funds from the Depart­ment of Alco­hol and Drug Addic­tion Ser­vices are ear­marked for rais­ing aware­ness, edu­cat­ing the pop­u­lace about drug addic­tion, part­ner­ing with local law enforce­ment and sup­port­ing the fam­i­lies of drug addicts, so the task force will not be able to use the funds for treat­ment of drug addicts.

Demo-Hodgins will com­plete a work plan based on the deci­sions made at the two task force meet­ings so far and will sub­mit it to ODADAS by June 30.

The task force will hold its third meet­ing at 5:30 p.m. Thurs­day, July 14, in the con­fer­ence room of the Bucyrus pub­lic library. For more infor­ma­tion call the Bucyrus office of the Crawford-Marion Board of Alco­hol, Drug Addic­tion and Men­tal Health Ser­vices at 419–562-7288.

Posted by Sarah Einselen on Jun 13 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.