Chillicothe — Council appropriated $40,000 of One Ohio Opioid Settlement Funds to help keep at-risk Chillicothe High School students in school.
Councilman Dustin Proehl (D) saw his ordinance pass on second reading. He said he wanted to see it enacted earlier, before school started, but things were delayed. Proehl said fellow councilman Dan Demint (R) also deserved credit for the ordinance.
Demint said these funds are an investment in the future of the city, as they will help benefit troubled youth and keep them in school. The students will get real-world training and get help to graduate. This effort is mainly in Chillicothe schools, but they want it expanded into others.
Demint also shared credit with Jamie Brown of Sojourners Care Network, former sixth Ward councilman, who headed up the effort and is the driving force behind it.
Learn more about Brown in a couple of my previous stories about him:
“New Representative for Chillicothe Council’s 6th Ward” (October 12, 2022)
“Holiday Hotcake Hootenanny” in Chillicothe to Help Youths in Need (December 12, 2023)
Also learn more:
Sojourners Care Network has offices in Chillicothe, McArthur, and Athens. They can also be reached at 877-496-8531 (toll free) or 740-596-1117, and have a a 24-hour Crisis Response.
“The OneOhio Recovery Foundation is a private, non-profit organization created at the direction of Ohio’s state and local leaders to distribute 55 percent of the funds our state will receive from the pharmaceutical industry as a consequence of its role in the national opioid epidemic.
“The Foundation will work with local interests to support their substance misuse prevention, treatment and recovery efforts and invest funds to support these efforts for Ohioans into the future.”
Harm Reduction Ohio and the Ohio Opioid Settlement Project
“Ohio will receive more than $1 billion in lawsuit settlements from companies involved with making and marketing prescription opioids. State and local governments are now planning how the money will the spent and who will control the money.
“Harm Reduction Ohio has created the Ohio Opioid Settlement Project web site to publish information for the public and government officials to better understand the opioid settlements and how the money is being used.”
