The Paint Valley Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMH) Services Board held its very first Recovery Celebration on Tuesday at the Sunroom at the Brick, in Frankfort.
“To commemorate Recovery Month and the 50th anniversary of the board’s creation, we felt it was important to recognize individuals that make a recovery possible for the residents of our board area,” said Jack Clark, chair of the board of directors.
Penny Dehner, executive director of the Paint Valley ADAMH Board, said, “Traditionally we recognize an Advocate of the Year, but decided to expand the awards to include a Mental Health Advocate, Addiction Advocate, Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Champion and Recovery Oriented System of Care Champions. The evening was all about celebrating recovery. Sharing some successful recovery stories and honoring those who have led the way towards recovery was the focus. We know treatment works, people recover and recovering people work.”
Terry Russell, executive director, National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio (NAMI Ohio), served as the keynote speaker. Russell’s message included, “Recovery does work and it works for everyone, substance use disorder and mental health diagnosis both can and do recover and live happy successful lives.”
The following individuals received Recovery Oriented System of Care Champion Awards for their dedication to the residents of the board region:
– Christina Blair, Community Action of Fayette County
– Lt. Gabe Carpenter, Commercial Point Police Department, Pickaway County
– Patricia Friel, Friel and Associates, Ross County
– Tracy Hathaway, The Recovery Council, Pike County
– Jennifer Kessinger, Ross County Sheriff
– Tonya Sturgill and Jon Parr – Highland County Probation Department
Crisis Intervention Team Champion, Cpl. Robert Minney III of the Piketon Police Department, was nominated by police chief Mike Blair. Minney used his deescalation skills from his CIT training to assist a resident who was in crisis. He was able to peacefully, without use of force, assist the resident out of his home and to an EMS unit. EMS was able to transport the resident to Adena Pike Medical Center to receive a mental health evaluation.
