Steubenville, Ohio (WTRF) – It’s hard to underestimate just how much purpose our jobs bring to our lives.
They get us up in the morning, give us a social circle, and give us a feeling of routine.
And the Jefferson County Prevention and Recovery Board hopes that if someone in recovery sees that kind of hope, there’s no telling how many people they’ll pass it on to.
The Appalachian Regional Commission has given the Jefferson County Prevention and Recovery Board $203,000 to hire a peer workforce developer.
That’s someone in recovery themselves who are trained to help others through the process, and get high-demand jobs like truck drivers and retail workers.
The best part of the plan is how it will be self-sustaining long past the lifetime of the grant.
It’ll have one person training other people that will then help other people that will then train other people. So it really is a virtuous cycle and it really self-perpetuates itself over the term of the grant.
Bill Holt, Executive Director, Jefferson County Prevention and Recovery Board
Holt says it shouldn’t need any additional funding in the future from local or state government—all it will take is this one grant to spark the chain reaction of care.
The Prevention and Recovery Board was one of only two organizations to get the grant in all of Ohio.
They say addiction is often called a disease of despair, but they’re determined to replace that despair with promise for a better life.
