Ohio Governor Mike DeWine created the RecoveryOhio Initiative to coordinate and improve how the state addresses mental health and substance use disorders. The Advisory Council includes a diverse group of individuals who have worked to address mental illness or substance use issues in prevention, treatment, advocacy, or support services, as well as other government and community organizations
Our own Juliet Dorris-Williams was appointed to the council. On today's show, Juliet talks about her experiences at meetings and with other members, as well as explains some of what RecoveryOhio means for the peer community. Listen now for more info about this exciting new initiative.
Show Notes:
7:29 – ". . . there were not only peers with lived experience, but there were also members of law enforcement. They were also judges. There was an ex-governor on the council. It just goes to show how much of our life, how much of society, comes to bear when we're talking about how we support people living with mental illness and an addiction. And trauma prevention professionals were there." (The RecoveryOhio Initiative aims to bring a diverse group together to improve care in Ohio.)
11:59 – "But when we go out into rural Ohio, you get a completely different take on advocacy." (Peers across Ohio are not a monolithic group, we face different challenges.)
12:23 – "You may as well not have resources if people don't know about it and people can't access it. And so yes, we are resource rich but still so fragmented and siloed." (Better funding does not necessarily lead to better care if the care delivery system is inadequate.)
15:22 – "Because . . . .mental illness and addiction, knows no boundaries with this." (Mental illness, addiction, and trauma does not discriminate. It affects people in all walks of life.)
20:16 – "Because our work isn't done. We were told that we weren't done. The plan is out. but we weren't done. Still open for feedback. . . . " (The RecoveryOhio Initiative is not complete. Council members and government officials are still open to comments and critiques.)
