The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Costs of addiction outlined at rally
Recovery One supporters make final pitch
Supporters of Issue 14 made a final pitch to voters with a rally on Nov. 2.
Fresh off an endorsement from the Lorain County Police Chiefs Association, supporters of the Recovery One project gathered at the former Golden Acres Retirement Home at 45999 North Ridge Road in Amherst Township.
Issue 14 is a five-year 0.3mill property tax levy that would raise more than $2.01 million annually for a new substance abuse treatment facility.
For the owner of a home valued at $100,000, the levy would cost $10.50 per year.
“I was looking at the Journal before I came over here and in the latest national statistics, 200 people are going to die today of drug overdoses in this country,” said Lorain County Commissioner Matt Lundy. “Preliminary figures are showing 72,000 people were lost last year to drug overdoses. Stop and think about that. That’s more than the number of people that live in Lorain. Take every parent, every child and they all overdosed.”
Lundy stressed the numbers including 49,000 deaths related to opioid overdoses in 2017 (an increase from 42,000 in 2016) should give Lorain County residents some pause as they consider Issue 14.
“Those are some statistics that should be quite alarming for the whole community and we hope the community will see the importance of this investment so that we can move forward,” Lundy added.
Recovery One aims to become a comprehensive coordinated care center for Lorain County residents impacted
by substance abuse, providing detox, short-term outpatient treatment and long-term residential treatment, and recovery housing.
The project hopes to address local gaps in service, acting as an epicenter for recovery. Clients coming to the facility would receive a comprehensive assessment before being referred to appropriate services with the center potentially serving as the first stop for those seeking help.
Representing the Lorain County Police Chiefs Association, Chief Duane P. Streator of the Avon Lake Police Department stressed Recovery One presents an opportunity to fight back against the opioid crisis with a detailed action plan.
“Law enforcement is in this for the long haul. We
are here representing your community and we want to be there to help communities,” Streator said.
“I think this is a way we can all get together and I applaud the Commissioners for getting out in front of it and I applaud Lorain County. We are fortunate to live in a county that is attempting every way possible to get ahead of this. We have many programs and this is just one of the programs that we’re involved with. And law enforcement is there every step of the way.”
The Police Chiefs Association officially endorsed Issue 14 on Oct. 31.
Supporters also had the opportunity to hear a number of stories from those in recovery.
Steve Geiger urged the community to support Issue 14 and the $10 investment
that can provide help for those seeking treatment.
Geiger, a 41-year-old Elyria native is the Men’s Program Director for Road to Hope and is detailed his own journey to recovery from alcohol and drug addiction along the needs in Lorain County for more resources to assist those struggling .
“Addicts and alcoholics in active addiction who do not get help are going to stay in active addiction,” Geiger said. “They are going to cost the community more than $10 either by breaking into your car or the cost of Narcan kits or the cost of having first responders at their wits end, parents at their wits end, grandparents having to raise children, the strains on all the other social programs and the trickle-down effect.”