The dedicated individuals of Salem’s Recovery Resource Hub’s efforts to help those suffering from mental health and addiction issues received a financial shot in the arm Friday in the form of a $388,600 grant from the OneOhio Recovery Foundation which will support their screening, support, and training services which help not only to get those in need into treatment, but to reintegrate into their communities and find stable employment. Shown from left are Flying High Inc. Executive Director and Founder Jeffrey Magada, Salem Police Sgt. Danny Green, Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey, Columbiana County Mobile Crisis Response Team Member Keith Karlo, Columbiana County Mental Health Recovery Board Member Lori Colian, Help Network Director of Peer Support Services Erica Como, and Columbiana County Mobile Crisis Response Team Members Jerret Carrol and Jaime and Glen MacMillin. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)

SALEM — The Salem Recovery Resource Hub has been awarded a $388,600 grant from the OneOhio Recovery Foundation to support efforts to fight addiction in the community by providing screening, support, and training services.

“The grant from the OneOhio Recovery Foundation will go toward helping to identify needs of people integrating back into society while recovering from substance disorder and mental health issues,” said Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey.

According to a press release, the grant is part of an approximately $51 million inaugural round of funding distributed “as part of its mission to combat the opioid epidemic by supporting prevention, treatment and recovery programs and services.” That grant funding was comprised of 55% of settlement funds the state “is receiving from the pharmaceutical industry as a consequence of its role in the national opioid epidemic,” and is reflective of “the foundation’s commitment to supporting organization on the frontlines of the addiction epidemic by advancing efforts that foster more resilient, healthier communities across Ohio.”

“Across Ohio, organizations like the City of Salem are working day in and day out to strengthen their communities that had been impacted by the opioid epidemic. We’re pleased to partner with Salem to support their efforts to save lives, rebuild families affected by addiction, and foster strong and resilient places to live,” said OneOhio Recovery Foundation Executive Director Alisha Nelson.

Dickey said that Salem has seen success in getting people into treatment through the cooperation of the city’s safety forces and Peer Supporters but had noticed that those individuals face difficulties when returning to society and the job market, and the resource hub had been formed in response. With community partners like Flying High, Mental Health and Recovery, Help Network, On Demand, Community Health, and more the Hub will assist those people in “identifying their needs and refer them to resources within the community to get the training and support they need to become successful from [that] point on.”

Dickey said the program would also “offer a way for the homeless to find shelter and the jobless to secure life supporting employment, as well as many other aspects of life in recovery.”