Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story inaccurately stated Redbird Resilient raised $17,000 for a Drug Free Club in the Loudonville-Perrysville Schools. That money actually was raised through the school district and volunteers prior to Redbird Resilient’s formation. Redbird Resilient is also fundraising for the cause.
LOUDONVILLE — Members of Redbird Resilient think of their group as small but mighty.
While about 10 members of the group gathered for a planning meeting at Loko Bean coffee shop in downtown Loudonville Tuesday, it was clear they’re not content to watch as members of their community suffer, either from addiction or from the trauma of having a loved one who is addicted.
The group has been meeting just a few months, but already they have joined the school district’s efforts to start a Drug Free Club in the Loudonville-Perrysville Schools. They’ve also started a Kinship Care support group for extended family members raising children as a result of parents’ drug abuse. The support group is set to meet for the first time Thursday,and Redbird Resilient volunteers will provide childcare.
Redbird Resilient members are still developing vision and mission statements and kicking around the idea of setting up a 501(c)(3). But in the meantime, group leader John Stoops refuses to let those housekeeping matters get in the way of action.
Stoops, a past president of the Rotary Club of Loudonville, has led the charge to develop a group to help promote reslience and reduce drug addiction in the Loudonville area. He and fellow rotarian Larry Henley pulled in other Rotary Club members and a cross section of community members to join the effort, which has come to be known as Redbird Resilient.
The group includes representatives from the school district, the faith community, the treatment community, the business community and service clubs. The two things members have in common are recognition of the need in the community and willingness to roll up their sleeves and help.
R.F. McMullen principal Annette Gorrell said she sees the devastation drugs can bring to families and the impact that can have on children.
“I want all the kids at my school to have a strong, happy, healthy and stable environment to live in, and not all of them have that,” she said. “I know parents don’t want to be hurting their children in any way, physically or mentally. They love them. But now some parents have this addiction and they can’t care for their children. If we can help those parents, that will help our children.”
Pastor Steve Sullivan of Loudonville United Methodist Church also sees the impact of addiction in his work.
“I’ve sat with too many people counseling them over addictions or because their loved ones are addicted,” he said. “I’ve buried too many people who have died because of drug use. Something has to be done.”
Some of the group’s accomplishments to date include:
- Collecting donations to launch a Drug Free Club, which will allow students to sign up for a voluntary drug testing program and earn rewards from community businesses by staying drug free
- Working with the schools and Ashland County Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse to expand the program Too Good For Drugs to all grades K-6
- Planning to set up informational booths at school open houses and to speak at the district’s convocation ceremony
- Starting a Kinship Care support group, which will be held twice monthly at the Methodist church and facilitated by Jean Coleman, a pastor who is also a kinship care guardian
Also in the works are preliminary plans for a series of educational sessions for adults in the community on topics like addiction, trauma and mindfulness. Sullivan is also heading up an effort to organize an adopt-a-class program in which various church congregations “adopt” a classroom or grade level of Loudonville-Perrysville students to provide mentoring and support.
The group is already turning heads regionally, with Cleveland news station WEWS producing a feature story on the group that is expected to air this week.
Loko Bean owners Ashley and Rob Thurber have opened up their coffee shop to host meetings and have joined the grop to help as much as they can.
“I hope we can educate, and then through education start to remove stigmas around mental health issues, which are really the cause of addiction,” Rob Thurber said. “Then you can build a stronger community because people who are suffering from addiction aren’t afraid to interact with the community, and vice versa.”
Loudonville-Perrysville superintendent Catherine Puster said when she thinks of Redbird Resilient, she thinks of the adage, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
“In this group, we have a village that has an interest in not only raising our kids but also helping the whole family through trauma or whatever they have going on in their lives,” she said.
“We can’t force somebody to take the help that’s offered but what we can do is provide a community where they feel loved and welcomed. When you feel part of a community, you feel valued and you’re more likely to accept help when it’s offered, or to seek it.”
Redbird Resilient is seeking additional volunteers to join the group and can be reached at RedbirdResilient@gmail.com.
