Tuscarawas County to build treatment center for male addicts

DENNISON ‒ Tuscarawas County will soon have its first treatment center for men struggling with drug or alcohol addiction.

The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMHS) Board of Tuscarawas and Carroll Counties will be putting the project out for bid in the next four to six weeks. The $2.25 million facility will be built on a 3.3-acre tract on Dudgeon Way, off of Stillwater Avenue. The site is close to the U.S. Route 250/state Route 800 intersection.

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The 7,000-square-foot building will have 16 beds, a meeting room and offices for counselors and a house manager's office. It will be operated by Ohio Guidestone, which already runs a treatment center for women in Tuscarawas County.

Mary Ann Otte of New Philadelphia, whose son, Joe, long struggled with addiction and died of a heroin overdose in 2013, said such a facility has been needed for a long time.

Male addicts now have to go out of the county to get treatment.

"When you're in a treatment facility, they love more than anything to have family and friends a part of that recovery," said Otte, who is an ADAMHS board member. "When you're out of county, it makes it all the more difficult. You don't have all that local support. So I have wanted this recovery home here in Tuscarawas County for years and years. So my dream is finally coming true.

"I can't help but think that there are going to be so many people locally receiving the help that they truly need."

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Brad Hillyer, who just retired as judge of Tuscarawas County Court/Southern District in Uhrichsville, said he is pleased about the news. The majority of criminal cases handled during his 22 years on the bench involved people addicted to drugs.

"That will be a wonderful site. It is badly, badly needed. I have no place to put people now," he said. "Those facilities have the best success because they give you treatment and they send you to work."

Natalie Bollon, ADAMHS board executive director, said her agency has been saving for years to build the treatment center. In addition, Tuscarawas County commissioners have given the board $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project, and officials are waiting to hear whether they will receive a $750,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

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Officials have known for decades that a men's residential treatment center was needed in the county, but financing has always been an issue, she said.

"We spent a lot of time looking for locations," she said. "We looked both at houses and facilities and could we remodel and rework that to make it work? We looked at a lot of different land and there were all sorts of different barriers here and there. One of the beautiful things about this is that it is close enough that it's a quick drive to some type of employment or a grocery store."

Dudgeon Way is a cul-de-sac that ends at a wooden hill. The treatment center will be built at the end of the road.

"The other really nice thing about it is the backdrop is going to be that wooded hill behind it," Bollon said. "We know sometimes when you get people away from the activity and the bustle and the noise and just give them some time to focus on their wellness and healing and recovery, that could be a really good environment for them."

She praised Dennison Mayor Greg DiDonato for his assistance in the project, including making sure that water and sewer lines were extended to the site.

"Mayor DiDonato has been an incredible blessing to work with," she said. "He has been so supportive of the project, not only from a clinical standpoint but also just finding all sorts of avenues to help us bring this construction up."

Future plans include a men's recovery house on the site.

"This is a huge gap that we have had in our system of care and our board couldn't be more excited or more supportive of making this happen," Bollon said.