“When someone walks through the door with the overarching concern that they are homeless, that becomes an issue that outranks concern about addiction.” — John Edwards Sr., UMADAOP Lucas County Executive Director
Recovery Oriented Systems of Care A prevention, treatment, and recovery support and re-entry program framed with elements of a recovery oriented systems of care (ROSC), was designed by Edwards and his staff to provide specialized services to accommodate the particular needs of youth and adults served by the organization. Some of them include: The Healthy Workplace Project (HWP). HWP is an employment and recovery support initiative for young men and women 18 to 25 years old. It teaches employment readiness training for responsible and substance-free workplace behavior to help clients associate alcohol and drug use with the harmful consequences that may follow. HWP covers the impact of the use and misuse of drinking and illicit drug use, including heroin and prescription painkillers.They focus on detrimental effects to physical and mental health, and how the deterioration of one or both can affect one’s ability to maintain successful employment. The Safe Organized Accessible Recovery (SOAR) program, is for women in recovery.Through setting high standards of care, the program provides structured and stable housing for women struggling with substances.The safe housing creates an environment where women can develop a
UMADAOP Lucas County Executive Director John Edwards Sr., as well as the rest of the location staff, are very concerned with addiction. But, like the people who walk through their doors, they are aware that substance abuse is typically the result of many negative environmental factors. “When someone walks through the door with the overarching concern that they are homeless, that becomes an issue that outranks concern about addiction,” Edwards says. “It is going to stay upfront in their mind until it is dealt with.” A comprehensive and compassion-based approach is what drives success and the staff at the Lucas County location. “We are able to address that issue in a way that does not cause us to say, ‘You need to focus on your addiction.’” Edwards says that kind of inflexibility is not going to shift the suffering client’s mind from what they perceive to be their most important problems.
foundation for long-term sobriety. The philosophy is that, in order to get genuinely clean, a healthy and sober environment is necessary. SOAR offers resident assistance in obtaining employment, financial services and pursuing educational opportunities. Twelve-step program attendance is required, and residents receive outside counseling with experienced and reputable professionals. The Circle for Recovery of Ohio program (CFRO) is a reentry program for male ex-offenders that are returning to the community. CFRO is part of a statewide initiative.The program helps assimilate parolees and ex-offenders back into society by providing assistance with services to help them maintain sobriety, acquire job readiness skills, obtain successful job placement, and by facilitating access to drug-free housing and providing other supportive services.The purpose of CFRO is to keep communities safer, reduce recidivism and to assist ex- offenders in becoming productive citizens. CFRO helps to save tax dollars by lowering the direct and collateral costs of incarceration. UMADAOP Lucas County offers intensive outpatient treatment, diagnostic assessments, group counseling, individual counseling, medication assisted treatment, case management, crisis intervention, urinalysis, recovery coaching, specialized services for women and adolescents, life skills training and drug-free social activities. It also offers prevention programs for youth that includes afterschool and summer programs that foster self- esteem, cultural awareness, alcohol and drug avoidance, developing peer relations and hosting positive social activities.
Comprehensive Care Edwards and his staff provide a well-rounded array of services, not only through the programs that target specific circumstances for constituents, but also by providing programs that are culturally relevant and recognize the importance of including meaningful social components. Research is beginning to reveal that different demographics, contrasted by sex, age, race or socioeconomic background, face different challenges, and individuals are introduced to substances differently and struggle with substance addiction differently. With this realization in mind, service provisions are client centered,”
Edwards says. “We had to adapt evidence-based models to develop an organic, home grown model.” Not only does the UMADAOP Lucas County staff concern themselves with all of the problems potentially facing prospective clients, but the staff factors into account the impact on the whole family and social unit of the individual. “We try to reunite families,” Edwards says. As for the people administering care and resources, Edwards says they don’t “see themselves as someone who sits on the comfortable side of the desk.” Instead, they “see themselves as being closely aligned with the individuals and families that we serve.”
“We had to develop an organic, home grown model.” — John Edwards Sr., UMADAOP Lucas County Executive Director
John Edwards Life is more than the sum of your problems
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