ASHLAND – Nearly a year after a group of Ashland County residents with concerns about the drug epidemic began meeting to talk about solutions, the group has released a set of recommendations.
The group, which has become known as Ashland County Citizens to Reduce Illegal Drug Activity, presented a four-page report at a press conference at Transformation Network Tuesday. The report contains 14 recommendations, which are broken down into the categories of law enforcement, education and treatment.
Ashland County Citizens to Reduce Illegal Drug Activity began with a community conversation and several follow-up forums led by Louise Fleming of the Ashland University Center For Civic Life.
More than 50 people attended the early meetings, and then a core group continued to meet monthly throughout the past year.
Before making its report and recommendations, the group heard from a cross-section local mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, educators and others. Government officials, medical care providers and faith leaders also gave input.
The full text of the report can be viewed as a PDF below.
In the area of law enforcement, the group recommends that the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office add one additional detective who is dedicated solely to drug enforcement. The group also recommended the Ashland Police Department add another detective, and the department already has done so.
The group also recommends increased cooperation and coordination between the city police department and county sheriff’s office.
In the area of education, the group calls on each board of education and superintendent in the county to develop a comprehensive drug prevention program that is implemented in every school building and at every grade level.
The group is also asking for a drug effort coordinator to be appointed within each district to serve as a liaison with drug educators and to ensure the program is being implemented.
Treatment seemed to be the toughest area for the committee to reach a consensus and make recommendations.
Though the committee believes treatment is a necessary part of reducing illegal drug activity, group members found a disconnect between statements from treatment providers and statements from the individuals and families seeking help.
“Ashland treatment officials from the Mental Health and Recovery Board, Appleseed and ACCADA believe that Ashland County has sufficient resources to meet the treatment needs of the community,” the report states. “However, there are persistent complaints from citizens that their treatment needs are not being met or services are unavailable.”
The group recommends a volunteer ombudsman be appointed to serve as an “impartial middleman” to gather facts and work on finding solutions when local residents have a problem finding treatment.
Group member Ryan Hershiser, who was himself in treatment for an addiction a little over a year ago, noted a lack of transitional housing for men in Ashland County. He said the group is not prepared to make a recommendation in that area yet but is aware of and studying the need.
Hershiser added that while financial realities might prevent some treatment providers from opening treatment centers in Ashland, another obstacle is resistance from community leaders.
“Anytime you get state money involved, there is some difficulty in controlling who can and cannot come to a facility. With an intensive outpatient facility or an inpatient facility, you always run the risk of having to accept anyone that applies to come to that facility,” he said. “The majority of leadership in Ashland, from what I see, they do not want treatment options where people are coming in from outside the county.”
Members of the group acknowledged there may be some obstacles to implementing their recommendations, such as defensiveness or resistance to change among agencies or individuals, financial constraints for law enforcement and limited time and resources within schools.
Despite those challenges, the group thinks the issues can and must be addressed.
Group member and former county prosecutor Bob DeSanto said financial hurdles should not be allowed to hinder progress because the cost of illegal drug use is is far greater than the cost of prevention.
“The dollars you spend reducing the drug problem go a long way to stopping other budgetary problems,” he said.
The group is calling on government leaders in the city and county as well as medical professionals and faith leaders to take more active roles in reducing the drug problem.
The committee will continue to meet to study and discuss issues, make recommendations and monitor progress.
“It breaks my heart that there are people dealing with these issues daily. We are going to continue working on it because we’re passionate about it, and we want to see people get the help they need,” Fleming Dufala said.
Anyone interested in joining the committee should call Dan Phillip at 419-207-1188.
The group is also looking for local residents who have had successful recovery from drug addictions or who have had recovery setbacks to share their stories. Group members hope common themes will emerge that will point the committee toward solutions. To share a story, call Dan Phillip at 419-207-1188.
