MANSFIELD — Joe Trolian presented a local number of hope on Thursday morning in terms of drug and alcohol addiction.
3,600 reasons to hope, to be exact.
Trolian, the executive director at Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, shared that number with county commissioners on Thursday as National Recovery Month began.
“A lot of times, we get really blindsided by ‘what’s the number, how many people have died this year (due to addiction),'” Trolian said.
“I’ll tell you one nice number to hear is that we’ve got about 3,600 people that are actively in recovery now and that’s been pretty consistent for the last 10 years in the county,” he said.
“Those are (the people) we really want to talk about this month … the people that are really doing what they need to do,” Trolian said.
He said the board “embraces all roads to recovery,” including family support, clinical assistance and the inclusion of the faith community.
“What’s going to work for you? Is it going to be a lot of family support and a little clinical help? Is it going to be a lot of clinical help? We will look at the different roads and let people kind of drive their own car,” Trolian said.
Trolian and Sherry Branham, the agency’s associate director, accepted a proclamation from commissioners designating September as “Recovery Month” in Richland County and outlined events planned.
The county theme is “Local hope for local recovery.”
“We book-end the summer. May is Mental Health Month to get everybody excited for summer. And then we do Recovery Month (in September) to bring everybody back in,” Trolian said.
“We have got family events coming up. We want people to continue to work on their road to recovery. It gives us a good opportunity to get out there and really promote the services that we have in the community,” he said.
The events began Wednesday evening at Community Park in Lexington, sending a message that overdose deaths are preventable. The public event included a candlelight vigil.
Some of the upcoming events highlighted were:
— the first Mansfield Recovery Picnic on Sept. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Central Park gazebo. Individuals, family members and friends are invited to bring a lunch or purchase something at the event, aimed at encouraging and celebrating recovery together.
— the third in a series of Town Hall Meetings sponsored by the METRICH Drug Task Force, Richland County Opiate Review Board and the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board. It will be Sept. 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Ontario High School auditorium, 457 Shelby-Ontario Road. The event will include the “Hidden in Plain Sight” presentation from Community Action for Capable Youth and a Q&A session at the end.
— an “Evening with Kevin Hines” on Sept. 24 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Renaissance Theatre in Mansfield. The free event is being done by 33 Forever in partnership with the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and the Renaissance Theatre. Hines survived a suicide attempt when he jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge. Stating that he regretted his decision “the minute I let go,” Hines has dedicated his life to telling his story of survival and encouraging people to access help. Free popcorn and soft drinks will be provided.
Near the end of the meeting, Commissioner Darrell Banks again asked why the country hasn’t done more to slow the flow of illegal drugs across the southern border.
Trolian responded, “My personal opinion … I probably shouldn’t say this in a public meeting, but we had an (COVID-19) epidemic and we shut everything down to try to stop that epidemic.
“We have have had this epidemic since 2008. Why have we not done the same?” Trolian asked.
Commissioner Tony Vero said, “You’re preaching to the choir here. I never understood it.”
