OhioCAN on the move,

bringing the family voice

Hopeanne Lovrinoff-Moran

Mahoning County

Coordinator

Vickie Morris Gasior

Summit County

Coordinator

Joy Gadbury

Cuyahoga County

Coordinator

Opiate Symposium sponsored by Canal Fulton/Lawrence Twp TAP
Thursday, March 9 at 6:30 PM Northwest Middle School

Hope for Recovery from Addiction
Saturday, March 25 at 5 PM Kent Trumbull Campus

Central Ohio March Madness Against Heroin
Saturday, March 25 at 11 AM
BE Ministries 193 E Church St (the old YMCA) Marion

Ohio's National March Against Heroin
Saturday, March 25 at 11 AM
Spartan Municipal Stadium
56 James st, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662

A common stereotype of the homeless population is that they are all alcoholics or substance abusers. The truth is that a high percentage of homeless people do struggle with substance use, but addictions should be viewed as illnesses and require a great deal of treatment, counseling, and support to overcome. Substance use is both a cause and a result of homelessness, often arising after people lose their housing.

Substance use is often a cause of homelessness. Addictive disorders disrupt relationships with family and friends and often cause people to lose their homes and jobs. In many situations, however, substance abuse is a result of homelessness rather than a cause. People who are homeless often turn to drugs and alcohol to cope with their situations. They use substances in an attempt to attain temporary relief from their problems.

Since substance use is both a cause and a result of homelessness, both issues need to be addressed simultaneously. OhioCAN has made Blessing Bags our Project and will collect items throughout the year, distributing necessities and food to those less fortunate.

For more information on where and how to donate, please contact Brenda Hamilton at [email protected]. All donations are tax deductable.

OhioCAN County Coordinators

Ohio C.A.N. is a non-profit project of The Hub, helping families by exposing the myths which have kept them in the bonds of isolation and shame. We provide families with evidence-based research, education and peer-to-peer family support. Ohio C.A.N. is committed to bringing the family voice to addiction and recovery. Much of the growth and development takes place first on social media. You can find us at www.facebook.com/groups/OhioCAN/ . It is from here county coordinators are developed and events and support become localized.

Several Counties are hosting our 4th. annual Steps of Change event which includes a variety of activities including walks, runs, ceremonies, health fairs, and balloon releases. Each county’s program is different. Most groups will stage “Walk a Mile in my Shoes,” in which family members display a pair of shoes of those who continue to struggle or who have passed from the disease of addiction. Steps of Change is a unified National effort to use the power of families affected by addiction to:

• Break the silence, the stigma and the shame

• Embrace evidence-based information and abandon outdated beliefs

• Show families affected by addiction that they are no longer alone

Each event is open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend.

Carly Frey

Education Chair

Debra Lawrence

Richland, Ashland

CountyCoordinator

Tina Tomb Reese

Montgomery County

Coordinator

Tracy Shaarda Krueger

Erie, Huron

County Coordinator

Carly Frey

Education Chair,

NE Area Director

Marybeth Day

Portage County Asst.

Jennifer Reed

Columbiana Asst.

Peer2Peer

Family Support

“This is Not a War on Drugs – it’s a War on People.”

Yes, families impacted by substance use face stigma and shame.

We pay dearly for the disease of addiction. Financially, mentally, physically and most important, emotionally. And because of this, members of OhioCAN Change Addiction Now, are rallying across the state on Saturday May 20th, at “Steps of Change” to help bring the family voice to addiction and recovery. As a response to the nation’s unprecedented surge in the use of heroin, fentanyl and other dangerous substances, Ohio C.A.N. announces a dynamic family-centered approach, to deliver desperately needed resources, tools, and support to the growing numbers of families affected by the disease of addiction.

“We have a heroin epidemic, a prescription pill epidemic and an epidemic of abusing many other different drugs,” said DeWine. “We cannot arrest our way out of this problem. Community leaders, law enforcement and local experts can do our jobs, but ultimately it will be up to each community. Fighting drugs will come down to grass roots efforts, neighborhood by neighborhood, community by community, city by city and county by county.”

The stigma of “addiction” is a major barrier to recovery; access to care is improved by ending discrimination against people and families impacted by substance use. We are at the forefront, standing side by side with our families.

Laura Cash

Delaware County

Coordinator

Mim Cherrie

Portage County

Coordinator

Anna Zsinko

OhioCAN Treasurer

Advisory Board

Brenda Hamilton

Columbiana County

President OhioCAN

Cindy Koumoutzis

OhioCAN State Director
Co-Founder United We C.A.N

[email protected]

STEPS OF CHANGE -

WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES

May 21, 2016 OhioCAN held its 3rd annual Steps of Change rally in Salem, Youngstown, Akron, Ravenna, and Canton. The communities rallied as they led in educating, bringing about awareness but more importantly, bringing the families together without STIGMA or SHAME!!

UNITED WE C.A.N. AND YES, OHIO WILL

Your OhioCAN Officers

Family Education

Medically Assisted Treatment E-Book
What to do when you find out your child is using drugs
Drug and Alcohol Fact Sheet
Drug Guide for Parents
Prescription and Over the Counter Drug Guide
A 20 minute self-help guide
Who can help my teen?
Recovery Overview
Recovery for Family Members
How to Listen
How to Break through Barriers
Have a Conversation, Not a Confrontation
Getting Help for the Rest of the Family
5 Things You Must Know about Relapse
Don't Give Up on Being a Parent

Local Resources

Start Talking Ohio
Healthy Ohio
Project DAWN Naloxone
Opiate Task Force
Drug Free Action Alliance
Opiate Bills in Ohio

Family Resources

SAMHSA
State Legislature
State Senate
State House of Representatives
Attorney General
Governor Kasich
Department of HHS
Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Communities That Care
United Way National
Harm Reduction
Nami
Stop Overdose Org
Drug Policy Alliance

OUR MISSION

OhioCAN recognizes addiction is a family disease for which families need recovery too. We also know families are the missing piece to solving the epidemic of addiction.

It is our mission to bring the family voice to addiction and recovery empowering families to create an atmosphere of open exchange without shame or stigma.

OhioCAN currently has leadership in 17 counties throughout Ohio. If you are interested in forming a Peer2Peer group, hosting an event or just want to eliminate stigma in your hometown, please email [email protected] to get started.

Why donate to OhioCAN?

C.A.N. is the first organization of its kind to focus directly on the health of the family impacted by substance use.

While our Mission is "BringingYOUR Voice to Addiction and Recovery," our Vision is to "Embrace, Educate and Empower those whose lives have been impacted by substance use." And for this, we need your help. No donation is too small as we continue to reach out to communities and families removing the stigma and shame.

C.A.N. is a project of The Hub for Direct Community Action, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization