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OhioCan organizer describes local opioid-response event, reports decline in overdose deaths
Summary
An OhioCan organizer told the board the group’s annual memorial and resource event at Columbia Woods aims to connect people to services; local overdose deaths fell about 24% in the last year, she said.
Ruth, an organizer with OhioCan, spoke to the Norton Parks and Cemetery Board on June 23 about the group’s work connecting residents affected by addiction with resources.
Ruth said OhioCan’s mission is to bring “education, empathy, empowerment to anyone that has been affected by the opioid by any addiction,” and described the group’s annual event at Columbia Woods, where they set out a pair of shoes for each person the community lost to overdose.
Ruth told the board the number of overdose deaths in the area fell about 24 percent in the past year, down from more than 300 the prior year in the broader referenced area; she said OhioCan partners include the local health department and ADM and that the event provides resource tables and referrals.
“She said, ‘No judgment. We just want people… We just try to make a positive change. And if you ever have any questions or need resources, I'm there,’” Ruth told the board.
Why it matters: The presentation highlighted local community-organizing and public-health outreach aimed at reducing overdoses and connecting families and people in active use with treatment and support.
Ruth invited board members to contact OhioCan for local outreach or resource coordination.
No formal board action was taken on OhioCan’s report during the meeting.
