RecoveryOhio council examines overdose death rates, discusses prevention methods

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine's RecoveryOhio Advisory Council met virtually Tuesday afternoon to discuss the state's response to substance abuse and mental health disorders.

The council is made up of people with lived experiences, experts in the fields of treatment, recovery and support among others to help end the stigma of addiction across the state.

Using state data, they've identified 23 counties in Ohio that represent 80% of the state's overall total overdose deaths. Lucas County is one of those 23.

Many of the instances are set around the major cities of Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo.

The focus areas of the overdose strike team are simple: to extend a hand and limit the amount of drugs accessible to the citizens.

In the field of mental health, the council continues to move forward with the rollout of their "988" suicide prevention lifeline.

The goal is for 988 to replace the current national suicide prevention lifeline by July of next year.

Lori Criss, the director of the council, stated that the progress for this lifeline has been years in the making, as the federal act got signed into law in October 2020. She also stated that success throughout the timeline will look different in hopes of building up a crisis care service system and continue to upgrade services for call centers and other lifelines for people to reach out to.

The goal of the council is to get people across the state to realize that these citizens who are struggling need help too. They're trying to break the stigma that addiction and depression aren't decisions, but instead diseases.