Lives lost, lives saved: Stark County symposium speakers share addiction recovery stories

• Four speakers talked about how drug abuse wrecked their lives.
• Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione stressed that beds are available for those seeking drug treatment.
• Thursday's symposium drew more than 100 to Malone University's Johnson Center.

CANTON − Frank Forchione make it very clear what he and others sought to do at the annual opioid symposium: Help people escape the vicious cycle of addiction.

"The whole goal tonight is try to get you help ... and try to get you information," the Stark County Common Pleas judge said, adding the U.S. suffers more than 100,000 opioid overdose deaths a year. "The whole goal tonight is to help save a life."

Thursday's audience of more than 100 at Malone University's Johnson Center applauded.

Related:Recovering addict: ’Get the help. The help is out there’

The Stop Heroin from Killing Committee eighth annual "Let's Save a Life" symposium drew judges, mayors, prosecutors, leaders of local organizations with treatment beds along with some going through the treatment and drug rehabilitation process.

Forchione said treatment beds with different local organizations were generally available for those seeking drug treatment, a sharp contrast with about three years ago when treatment beds were often full.

"You can get a bed tonight," he said.

Jack and Danielle's addiction stories

Jack Hoover was one of the three speakers who said they broke the cycle of addiction with the help of a treatment program.

He said he was a longtime "hopeless alcoholic and addict" who appeared in Forchione's courtroom to face felony charges. Forchione sentenced him to probation and drug and alcohol treatment at CommQuest Services' Wilson Hall, where Hoover later became a drug counselor.

"That day, standing in his courtroom, I had lost everything," Hoover recalled. "The man standing next to me saved my life. He could have sent me to prison."

Danielle Hoover, no relation to Jack Hoover, said after years of her abusing alcohol and drugs, she pleaded guilty in 2013 in Summit County Common Pleas Court to involuntary manslaughter after someone she was with died from a drug overdose. She was sentenced to five years in prison, lost custody of her daughter and missed the child's first birthday.

"I had to get to prison to get sober," she said. "I found God in a jail cell."

Danielle Hoover, now 39, said she relapsed 2 1/2 years into sobriety because she was still associating with the wrong people. She said what broke the pattern was getting treatment at treatment facilities in Cleveland and North Canton, far from the triggers in the Akron area.

"I had to fast from certain family members for 90 days," she said.

Danielle Hoover said she learned how to set a budget and how to schedule her time. She eventually became a drug and alcohol counselor.

The Rev. Berry Carter opens up about his loss

While others spoke about eventually triumphing over addiction, Rev. Berry Carter talked about how he lost his 42-year-old daughter, Melissa "Missy" Carter Schneiders, to a fatal drug overdose on March 5.

After serving as a military police officer, she had set her heart on becoming a drug abuse counselor and had gotten a bachelor's degree in social work. Schneiders became addicted to painkillers after experiencing extended back pain.

The problem became so severe, Carter said, he sought and got custody of his daughter's two children.

"When drugs come into a family, there's a lot of collateral damage," he said.

Carter said he tried to get his daughter admitted into treatment. But no facility would accept her because she had had a negative reaction to medications often used. He said his daughter really needed a program that would last more than a few months.

Carter said he and his wife found their daughter dead in her apartment in Columbus.

"I was really angry," Carter said, struggling to understand why his daughter was not among the success stories. "I was like, 'God, what about me?' But I realized God is sovereign. I can't figure it all out."

Carter announced that he has partnered with New Destiny Treatment Center to establish a long-term treatment facility for women in Massillon.

Recovery is 'beautiful'

Thomas Caplea of Canton said he was an addict for decades, struggling with the experiences of having a father in and out of his life. He first abused alcohol. Then marijuana at age 13. Then a laced joint by age 15. He got in trouble with the law with misdemeanor thefts and drug possession charges. He said he failed to attend a sentencing hearing, and Forchione issued warrants for his arrest. Caplea said he was eventually taken into custody.

Caplea said he went through a 90-day drug intensive treatment program while in prison. But he relapsed weeks later.

It took an incident after he smoked crack, could barely move and was hospitalized in 2019 for weeks to realize he had to stop using drugs.

Caplea would go on to get an associate's degree in chemical dependency counseling at Stautzenberger College in Brecksville in 2022. He's now a chemical dependency counselor for Arrow Passage Recovery in Massillon.

"I knew at that time I had to change every single thing about my life," said Caplea. "I had to unlearn everything I thought I knew. ... I want everyone to know how beautiful recovery is."

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.

Correction: Thomas Caplea shared at the opiate symposium about how his father coming into and out of his life contributed to his use of alcohol and drugs as a teen. Caplea said after he was released from a 90-day drug rehabilitation program, he relapsed within weeks. A prior version of this article incorrectly described his relationship with his father and when his relapse occurred.