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First detox center in Trumbull to open by spring
By Kalea Hall
WARREN
It’s no secret that there’s a problem with drug addiction here and throughout the state.
Opiates, specifically heroin, have caused overdoses of epidemic proportions.
Yet there still is not one detox facility in Trumbull County.
Come spring that is expected to change when Tom Dailey and David Kapp open First Step Recovery in Warren.
“The biggest question I had was why isn’t there one in Trumbull County,” Kapp said.
After Dailey brought the idea to him last fall, he thought that if no else can do it, then they should.
But it hasn’t been simple.
The 16-bed facility will function as a hospital with Dr. Joseph Lydon as medical director and Nicole Beckner-Litz as the director of nursing.
Finding the staff and getting the accreditations needed to run the facility haven’t hindered the passionate group of people behind the project, all of whom have a connection to understanding recovery from drug addiction.
For example, take Jeff Sanders. The executive director of the facility battled addiction and mental illness. He is in a wheelchair because 21 years ago, he jumped out of a hospital window to flee from security. Sanders is a licensed counselor and chemical- dependency counselor.
“I feel very passionate about what we are about to do,” he said.
His passion is driven by knowledge that the longer people wait to get into a detox center, the worse their condition becomes. Possible outcomes of waiting too long include drug-related crime, psychiatric issues, domestic problems and possibly overdose.
Trumbull County residents in need of detox primarily can go to Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic in Youngstown or Glenbeigh in Rock Creek, Ohio, Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board Executive Director April Caraway said.
“There is a need [for a detox center],” she said. “We get calls daily primarily for detox.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13th of Howland, who is co-chairman of the Congressional Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus, expressed his support of the center.
“I applaud First Step Recovery for opening in Trumbull County and working to address the substance-abuse epidemic that is destroying lives and disrupting families,” Ryan said.
“In Ohio, fatal drug overdoses have been the leading cause of accidental death since 2007 – it is imperative that we begin to stem this tide, and First Step Recovery will make a positive impact in the Valley,” he added.
First Step Recovery of Warren at 2737 Youngstown-Warren Road SE will be like a resort, the owners said. It doesn’t matter where the recovering addicts come from, they will be surrounded by the best of everything.
“We are going to treat them all with dignity,” Dailey said.
Not just dignity, but compassion.
The detox portion of the facility has 16 beds that will be available.
Extended stays also will be offered for 12 women and 12 men. A new structure is under construction for the extended-stay portion.
The new center will offer a continuum of care with outpatient services, including counseling.
Medicaid, private insurance and self-made payments will be accepted.
For more information on First Step Recovery of Warren, call 330-369-8022.