CLEVELAND — The effort to stop the stigma around addiction and prioritize mental health is underway. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently launched the Ohio Recovery Friendly Workplace program.
The program aims to create job opportunities for those in recovery, combat the stigma around it and establish a workplace dynamic where all can feel safe and supported.
Experts say frequently, those in recovery are suffering in silence, living in a state of fear over whether they will lose their job and question if they will ever feel accepted.
Recent data shows more than 19% of Ohio adults have a substance use disorder, and 9% of Ohio adults experienced thoughts of suicide.
DeWine says the program establishes necessary safeguards and further educates employers.
"My story is probably similar to a lot of people. I was young and had a minor back injury," Jess Saker of West Park said.
Saker knows first-hand about the ups and downs of addiction, mental health and the critical need for support and recovery.
"I was prescribed opioid pain medications, and those prescriptions became more and more, and more to the point where I became very dependent on them," Saker said.
She tragically lost her father to an overdose and her brother to suicide.
Through the pain—her drug use intensified and took a total chokehold of her daily being.
"From there, I graduated to heroin, to IV drug use for over a decade of my life. That's just what controlled me —what ruled my life, what I woke up for, what I passed out for," Saker said.
A 5-year jail sentence and a 9-month stay at the EDNA House for women, which her parole officer recommended, would change the entire trajectory of her life.
Her mistakes led her to a new beginning and a new purpose.
She found sobriety and peace.
"Seven years later. I'm here. How's it feel? It feels amazing," Saker said.
With no judgment of her past and a true sense of understanding of her recovery—she got hired at the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County.
The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board is responsible for the planning, funding and monitoring of public mental health and addiction treatment and recovery services delivered to the residents.
They saw her potential and eventually promoted her to the director of IT.
"We want people to know that treatment works and people do recover," Scott Osiecki, chief executive Officer of Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County, said.
"Being comfortable in my place of employment is so important to me. And I know I work for an organization that focuses on recovery," Saker said.
Saker's story of triumph and ADAMHS Board's overall operation align with the recent launch of the Ohio Recovery Friendly Workplace Program.
Through the program, businesses are encouraged to earn a designation through the state and support recovery-friendly practices in the workplace.
This can include:
- Training leaders on identifying substance use and encouraging coworkers to get help.
- Ending discrimination against those struggling with mental health and substance abuse disorders.
- Offering access to Naloxone and how to use it in an emergency.
- Promoting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
"We have to change our culture. So many people today have had an addiction problem, have a problem, have a mental health problem," DeWine said.
Both Saker and Osiecki applaud the measure.
They hope to see more businesses embrace it soon.
They say it's a necessary step in the right direction toward tackling an epidemic that impacts everyone.
"You're gonna get employees that are hard working, that are grateful. And what I do, a lot of people in recovery are doing—we try to show our gratitude through action. We work very hard," Saker said.
"It's also a huge step in ending stigma as well, right, by allowing people to tell their story; to seek help, to have a place to go even with your employer—it's really important," Osiecki said.
Saker works daily as a sober advocate and mentor, hoping that sharing her story will make others see it is possible.
Interested businesses can request a designation and find more information on recovery-friendly practices.
