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Access to Recovery looks for housing
Training for faith-based organizations is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
YOUNGSTOWN — More faith-based organizations are needed to participate in Access to Recovery, a program new to Mahoning County that provides drug and alcohol recovery services for people convicted of crimes.
“We need faith-based groups to provide temporary housing of up to six months for people returning home from jail,” said Doris Primm, executive director of the Mahoning County Alcohol Drug Addiction Services Board.
Mahoning County is sharing a three-year, $13.9 million federal grant with Cuyahoga, Stark and Summit counties. The grant, administered by the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, will be used for a number of supportive services, such as temporary housing, job training, transportation, health care and child care. Though the grant can’t pay fines, it can finance other costs associated with drivers license reinstatement.
Primm said seven churches and a couple of individuals indicated interest in becoming service providers when the program was announced last month. However, she said, more are needed.
She said Access to Recovery training for faith-based organizations has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Mahoning County ADAS office at 20 Federal Place West. Interested groups and individuals should call Primm at (330) 743-9509 or Mahoning County Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes at (330) 743-2192. TASC is coordinating services offered by Access to Recovery.
Primm said the goal is to decrease the recidivism rate. She said TASC has 80 to 100 people waiting to take part in the new program.
She said Mahoning County ADAS provides treatment and can provide supportive services, but the Access to Recovery program is completely new. The agency will now be working with the criminal justice community.
Primm said the grant will help address her priority, which is providing support services for indigent males aimed at stopping the “revolving jail door.”
The Access to Recovery grant provides vouchers so consumers can choose from a variety of services.
The $13.9 million grant was awarded to ODADAS in October 2007 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and ODADAS began implementing the grant in February 2008, said ODADAS Director Angela Cornelius Dawson.
To qualify for the program, clients must be at least 18, with a criminal justice background, have been diagnosed with substance abuse disorder and have a family income at or below 200 percent of the poverty level (about $40,000 for a family of four). Also, clients must reside in Mahoning, Cuyahoga, Stark or Summit counties — areas chosen for their high numbers of returning offenders and their proximity to one another, Dawson said.
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