Due to the dramatic increase in the abuse of opiates, as well as the consistent abuse of alcohol and other drugs, United Way has increased funding for substance abuse service providers in the county.
Ravenwood Mental Health Center and Lake-Geauga Recovery Centers are receiving funding to provide treatment for adults and adolescents who are caught in the powerful grip of addiction. The abuse of opiates and heroin in Geauga County mirrors national and state trends.
Unintentional drug overdoses caused 2,110 deaths of Ohio residents in 2013. Records show that in 2014, the death rate rose to 2,306, according to reporting from the Ohio Department of Health. 70 percent of those deaths were attributed to abuse of opiates, including heroin and prescription painkillers.
“Given the statistics, funding in this area makes the most sense,” says Dave Chew, Chairman of the Board for United Way. “The costs of addiction go way beyond the individual and their family. Opiate addiction is putting a great strain on many of our health and human service providers, including treatment facilities, law enforcement, the court system, and the foster care system.”
The Chardon Municipal Court reports 181 overdose deaths in Lake and Geauga in the last 4 years. The number of children in the custody of Children’s Services due to heroin/opiate use has increased by over 400% since 2011, which has tripled placement costs. In 2011 Children’s Services had an average of 27 children in their custody per month; in 2014, that number jumped to 66 per month. In addition, the behavioral and mental health needs of the children served has become far more complex, resulting in an increase of time that these children require out of home placement. The population of youth aging out of custody and receiving independent living services has also grown significantly.
United Way is working with the Partnership for a Healthy Geauga, a collaborative with representatives from county agencies, health and human service providers, educational institutions, and local government. This partnership is addressing substance abuse in other ways, like providing a simple training program for medical providers to screen patients for substance abuse and planning a community and school-based prevention plan.
“United Way will continue to fulfill our mission of uniting people and resources to change lives in the most significant ways,” said Chew. “Ideally, we would rather not be in this “reactive” mode and next year hope to expand our focus to substance abuse prevention programming.”
For detailed information about United Way Services of Geauga County’s strategies to impact education, income and health, click here.
