Heightened Needs
Her service spans to other areas of the community, as she works with churches to form non-profits and increase their access to resources that can help them better serve the community. While she has received praise for each of these many aspects of her efforts, her most noted work has been developing Whole Again International. The program provides meals to after-school students, churches, and summer youth programs in the Cincinnati area.
As the head of the UMADAOP of Cincinnati, Dennis-Ellsworth’s goal is to build new relationships that can increase funding streams, create new service opportunities, and cultivate and expand ideas to provide evidenced based methods of prevention, treatment, and recovery for minorities around Hamilton County. The collision of the opioid epidemic with the coronavirus pandemic multiplied the need for heightened attention in minority communities. Dennis-Ellsworth and her staff have quickly adapted to apply for additional funding to further the program’s reach. They partner with popup food sites and churches to better reach people and engage and inform them of where hope and recovery are available. “We partner with primary care facilities, local service
organizations, faith based community social agencies, and schools to send the message of hope to help reduce deaths and lack of treatments and increase the rate of recovery.”
Though her work spans many areas, Dennis- Ellsworth’s dedication remains the same. “My ongoing advocacy for residents’ safety, well-being, and quality of life continue to be my primary focus.” Referencing the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, she said, “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. To have it makes some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
- Leah Dennis-Ellsworth, Executive Director of the UMADAOP of Cincinnati “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate.
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