Maureen Waybright, left, Recovery Coordinator, and Lori Colian, Director of Treatment and Supportive Services at the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, are pictured with some of the food and paper product donations that have been received for the Operation BRIDGE event Nov. 16-17 in Salem and East Liverpool. (Submitted photo)

Several community agencies and services providers will join together this Thursday and Friday in a collaborative effort to connect individuals in our community with needed resources and services.

Operation BRIDGE will offer attendees the opportunity to receive various health screenings, speak with mental health and substance abuse treatment providers about service options, and connect to a number of different agencies providing services such as job seeking and resume help, food pantries, homelessness prevention, veterans assistance, and children’s needs. A free meal will be provided as well, and the goal is to serve 1,000 meals to area residents.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Nov. 16 at the Memorial Building, 785 East State Street, Salem, and on Nov. 17 at the House of Grace/Grace City Church, 225 West Fifth Street, East Liverpool, so that individuals at both ends of the county can be reached.

This event is part of Ohio’s Operation BRIDGE (Bridging Recovery & Interdiction Data Gathering Enforcement) program, which combines the resources of law enforcement and substance use treatment in a coordinated effort led by the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) and RecoveryOhio.

Local law enforcement agencies partner with their county Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services Boards to focus on outreach through activities like door knocks, pop-up informational tents, or social media contacts. 

The first BRIDGE Day event in Columbiana County was held July 19, 2023. Representatives from county treatment and service agencies set up information tents at each entrance of the Salem Walmart and distributed flyers and resource information, while treatment teams accompanied the Columbiana County Drug Task Force and local police departments throughout the day, offering immediate assistance to anyone willing to engage in treatment. The event was considered such a success by ODPS and RecoveryOhio staff that they reached out to the county Drug Task Force about conducting a larger, more extensive event. And Operation BRIDGE was born.

“The Columbiana County Drug Task Force is truly privileged to work alongside our community partners and resource providers on a daily basis.  We are extremely excited to be a part of and participate in this event,” said Brett Grabman, Director of the Columbiana County Drug Task Force. “We want to show the public that we are more than just an enforcement agency, and we further want to show how deeply we care about the community that we proudly serve.”

Planning for the event is being led by a committee of the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board’s Crisis Development Team.

“They (ODPS and RecoveryOhio) told us they want us to do a big event, around the holidays. And they want us to serve a meal,” said Lori Colian, CCMHRSB Director of Treatment and Supportive Services. “So we put out a call to our community partners for help, and we are going to make it happen.”

Among the first partners signing on to help were the Way Station and the House of Grace/Grace City Church. The Way Station had previously held a Thanksgiving dinner for the community each year, and the House of Grace serves free meals every Friday at the East Liverpool location, so both have been instrumental in the planning process and in making needed connections.

Volunteers from the Columbiana County Recovery Community have been tasked with helping with the food preparation in Salem, while the House of Grace lunch volunteers will be helping in East Liverpool.

YoFresh Food of Canfield made substantial food donations, while managed care companies Molina Health, Caresource, Humana and AmeriHealth, as well as the Northeast Ohio Network Council of Governments have made major monetary donations to the cause.

A number of health screenings will be available both days. Community Action Agency’s mobile unit will be onsite in East Liverpool, along with representatives from East Liverpool City Hospital, who will be offering blood pressure, pre-diabetes screening, cardiac risk assessments, and orthopedic services information. Kent State University nursing students will be on hand in Salem offering basic health screenings and information.

Substance use and mental health treatment providers will be on hand, ready to make referrals and initiate treatment, including Family Recovery Center, The Counseling Center, Insight Clinical Counseling, On Demand Counseling and New Vision detox program. The Project DAWN program will offer free naloxone kits, as well.

But while BRIDGE activities do put a focus on making connections for substance use treatment, everyone can benefit from attending and learning more about community services and resources. A number of agencies will be on hand to offer their expertise to seniors, veterans, parents, job seekers, individuals with developmental disabilities, or people in need of food assistance or services to prevent homelessness, just to name a few.

The doors will open at 9 a.m. each day, and the sit-down meal will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Carryout will be available for those attending beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Participating agencies have been asked to donate raffle baskets, gift cards, and other items for a Chinese auction. Those attending can collect free Chinese auction tickets by visiting the resource tables, and entering their tickets for the item(s) they hope to win.

To find out more about Operation BRIDGE, to make a donation, or to participate with a resource table, please call 330-424-0195 to speak with Lori or Jennifer, or email lcolian@ccmhrsb.org or jwhitman@ccmhrsb.org.