Agencies unite to fight addiction

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SIDNEY — A new facility to help people with addictions transition back into their community will be built at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office along with Shelby County Commissioners and the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services announced the establishment of a Transitional Treatment facility during a radio broadcast on TAM 105 during Sheriff John Lenhart’s weekly radio show.

“This is a major announcement for us,” said Lenhart. “This date in history will be very important for the county.”

Heroin/opioid addictions are causing tragedies in the county, he said.

“There have been 32 persons who have died from heroin or opioids since 2013 to now,” said Lenhart. “We have had five deaths so far this year. It takes toxicology reports five to six weeks to come back and I’m sure there will be more.

“We want to use this show as a kick off for a transitional treatment facility at the Sheriff’s Office,” he said.

Funding for the project will include $500,000 for capital improvements from Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services and a $200,000 grant from the state of Ohio. Estimated cost of construction of the facility is $600,000. The yearly operational cost of the transitional treatment facility will come from grants and a fee charged to the offender.

Lenhart said addicts who are sentenced to jail receive treatment for their addictions. The problems occur when the person has finished his or her sentence and they return home to the same atmosphere where their addiction started.

“We have dried people out from their heroin addiction,” said Lenhart. “We have inmates who ride their bicycles back and forth to work while they are in jail. We usually hold them for three months but it takes longer thank that for recovery. After that, they get out and get right back on drugs.”

Mark McDaniel, Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services executive director, said each individual must complete a long term recovery process to remain drug free.

“There has to be a change in their lifestyle,”said McDaniel. “The structure of their life has to change. They must have employment and continue to receive treatment.

“This facility will be a step down house where the person can restructure their life. They can get away from the previous people they were hanging out with.”

McDaniel said there are various programs available in the county, and the transitional treatment facility will bring all “the moving parts together.”

Shelby County Commissioner Julie Ehemann said the facility is something the sheriff talked about two years ago.

“This will be a place for people to bridge from being in jail to being back in their community,” said Ehemann. “They need assistance to get back on their feet.”

The transitional period, said McDaniel, will be for a three-month period after the person has completed their sentence at the jail.

“This will give them time to find employment if necessary, have a support system and then get back into their community or go to a recovery home for further treatment,” said McDaniel.”A person needs six months or more of sobriety to have a chance to recover and restructure their lives.”

The trio said this is the first time in the state that a transitional facility is going to be built on law enforcement property.

“They will be in the shadow of the jail,” said Lenhart. “That an intimidation for people to be nice.”

Lenhart said the need for treatment facilities is growing.

“There’s not enough space for treatment,” said Lenhart. “We will have up to 20 beds.”

He said if there are vacant beds, judges from outside Shelby County could order their inmates to reside in the facility.

“I want the community to keep us in their hearts and minds,” said Lenhart. “If you see drugs in your community, call us so we can get the person into the court system.”

In addition to the funding from Tri-County and the grant from the state, Lenhart said a stipend of each person’s wages who lives there will also help support the program.

“In our work program right now, $47,000 a year is generated,” said Lenhart. “They pay a stipend for room and board. If the person is getting paid $8 or $9 an hour, we know they may have child support or other bills to pay.

“We look at this facility as a ‘Field of Dreams. We will build it and they will come,’” he said.

McDaniel said the facility will provide the people an opportunity to rebuild their lives.

“They will continue to have structure in their lives,” he said. “They will continue working to rebuild their lives.”

“In my 40-plus years in law enforcement, if someone would have told me I would be involved in rehabilitation, I’d have asked what they were on. But here I am involved in it now,” said Lenhart.

Ehemann said the commissioners are supporting the facility by pulling all the pieces together.

“They (inmates) are not ready to go out on their own,” she said. “This is a great bridge for them to get back into society.”

Lenhart said he is hoping the program will provide additional workers in Shelby County.

“Our industrial base is always asking for workers,” said Lenhart. “We have 12 to 15 inmates who ride their bicycles to work. We want to expand that focus.”

Many of the inmates, he said, have no training, no driver’s license. The facility will give them a second chance at living a productive life.

“They have to want to be there,” said Lenhart. “It’s not uncommon for people to stub their toe during the recovery process.”

Lenhart said at the present time, the county jail can house 200 inmates. They currently have 168 inmates and 90 percent of them are in jail because of drugs and heroin, he said.

“We’ve found that women are not as receptive as the men are to recovery programs,” said Lenhart. “I did a paper for the Ohio State University years ago and one in 57 inmates was a woman. Today, in the 18 to 40 age group, one in four or five inmates is a woman. They’ve had their children taken away. We have four pregnancies (at the jail) and they all were using drugs.

“This is a tragedy that I’ve never seen in law enforcement before,” he said.

In addition to being involved in this new venture, Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health Services also operates Shelby House in Shelby County and recently opened a women’s recovery house in Miami County. Both will continue serving recovering addicts even though the new facility is planned.

“Shelby House is full,” said McDaniel. “It houses men from three counties — Darke, Miami and Shelby. The women’s house in Miami County is not full but it’s getting their fast.”

McDaniel said people stay at the recovery house up to 12 months or more. There is a waiting list for Shelby House.

“We’re facing a volume issue,” said McDaniel. “We have more people who need help than we have beds.”

The people going into the transitional treatment facility, will be coming out of jail.

“We want to keep them sober longer and give them time to recover,” said McDaniel.

Lenhart said several years he contacted the federal and state governments about housing for those in the recovery process.

“I got not response from either of them,” said Lenhart. “The local people decided it was time toput on their big girls and big boy pants and take the lead on this. You all know who long it takes the federal government to respond on things.”

A preliminary sketch of the facility has been completed.

“It’s not a jail,” said Lenhart. “It’s like an apartment house. It will cost us less than having a traditional security facility.”

The facility, he said, will have one person on duty 24/7. Cameras from the jail’s security system will be hooked into the new facility so jail employees can monitor what’s happening.

It will start out with 10 beds, they said, but can be expanded up to 20. The rooms will be dorm-style with one or two beds in each room. There will be a kitchen and laundry area. Those living there will be expected to do independent cooking and laundry. There will also be a room for group counseling sessions.

Lenhart said they have already received a donation of office equipment, tables, desks and refrigerator.

“This housing will be teaching them to get away from the people they had been interacting with” said Loretta Kinney, WMVR general manager. “We don’t want them to be thrown back into the same situation they were before. This facility will help break the cycle (of drug abuse).”

The mission of the three groups is to provide a safe environment for addicts while in recovery so they may live a drug free productive life. The Transitional Treatment facility will provide a clean, structured and sober environment free from substance abuse, homelessness, all while promoting self-esteem and self-confidence.

The transitional treatment facility is a step down program that compliments the work of the Sheriff’s Office and the members of the Shelby County Medication Assisted Treatment Team. Sgt. Karla Pleiman, who is in charge of the jail, has been a guiding force for the project, said Lenhart.

“We recognize the importance of giving people time and a supportive environment in their effort to remain clean. This project will give them that additional support,” said McDaniel.

Anyone wanting to help in any way is asked to call Lenhart at 937-498-7833

Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart, left, prepares, with the help of TAM FM DJ Kyle Winner, of Troy, to announce on the radio that a transitional treatment facility will soon be built next to the Shelby County jail.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/04/web1_SDN040617treatment.jpgShelby County Sheriff John Lenhart, left, prepares, with the help of TAM FM DJ Kyle Winner, of Troy, to announce on the radio that a transitional treatment facility will soon be built next to the Shelby County jail. Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

This is a preliminary sketch of the proposed transitional treatment facility which will be built next to the Shelby County Jail.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2017/04/web1_TransitionalTreatmentFacility.jpgThis is a preliminary sketch of the proposed transitional treatment facility which will be built next to the Shelby County Jail. Courtesy photo
Transitional treatment facility to be built at Sheriff’s Office

By Melanie Speicher

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Reach the writer at 937-538-4822; follow her on Twitter @MelSpeicherSDN. Follow the SDN on Facebook, www.facebook.com/SidneyDailyNews.

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