UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Community members took over the Eastgate Walmart parking lot Wednesday, passing out pamphlets, offering free food and hosting children's activities. Everyone in attendance had one goal: boosting recovery connections and support in Clermont County.
The event was the first Clermont Bridge Day, sponsored by Gov. Mike DeWine's Recovery Ohio initiative, the Ohio Department of Public Safety and the Clermont County Mental Health & Recovery Board.
Watch to see how different organizations are "bridging" recovery together:
While this is the first event of its kind in Clermont, the team from Operation BRIDGE has traveled across the Buckeye State for years.
"Each year, they seem to grow," said Dennis Lowe, who serves as a drug task force liaison from the state's Office of Criminal Justice Services. "We're going to new communities."
BRIDGE stands for Bridging Recovery & Interdiction Data Gathering Enforcement. Lowe told us their events are all about connections and keeping people out of the cycle of substance use and incarceration.
“Bridge the gap between public safety and public health, and provide opportunities for citizens across the state to get access or expedited access to treatment and recovery programming outside of the criminal justice system," Lowe said.
Many of the nonprofits and providers included staff who have gone through their own recovery journey.
Abby Liming is a Peer Support Specialist at the Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services. She spoke about the importance of sharing her own journey of recovery with people she meets to build trust and help foster support.
"Not being afraid to share what I’ve been through — the dirty, the good and the bad — I feel like people can relate," Liming said.
I also sat down with Shawna Weber, who works with Safe Harbor of Hope. The organization is specifically designed to help women facing a variety of issues, like substance abuse, homelessness or medical problems.
Weber said as someone in recovery herself, she is making sure women who walk through Safe Harbor's doors know they're in a safe space and can find the help they need.
“I want the women when they come in, to know that they’re in a safe place and that there is someone else sitting beside them who has walked this walk, who has been down this path.”
WCPO 9 continues our commitment to finding solutions and highlighting the ways the Tri-State is supporting recovery efforts in our region.
