At the special Workforce Substance Misuse and Recovery Event on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at First Christian Church in Warsaw, Bowen Center announced it had received a $1,000,000 Opioid Response Implementation Grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The center partnered with other local organizations to apply for the grant. Funds are to be used for various efforts to fight opioid addiction locally. From left: Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rob Parker, Fellowship Missions of Warsaw’s Brooke Lane, the Bowen Health Clinic’s Amy Johnson, the Bowen Center’s Betty O’Hara, Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory EMS Chief Chris Fancil, Fellowship Missions’ Ann Hasse, the K21 Health Foundation’s Holly Swoverland, the Bowen Center’s Wayne Peterson-Stephan and Live Well Kosciusko President and CEO Lisa Harman. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — A local event aimed at addressing substance misuse and recovery from a workforce standpoint included the announcement of $1,000,000 grant aimed at dealing with substance issues in the area.

At the Workforce Substance Misuse and Recovery Event on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at First Christian Church in Warsaw, Bowen Center Director of Addiction Recovery Services Wayne Peterson-Stephan announced that the center in conjunction with several other local organizations had received the grant.

It’s a Opioid Response Implementation Grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources & Services Administration.

“This was a combined effort with Fellowship Missions, the K21 Health Foundation, Live Well Kosciusko, the mayor (Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer), and the fire department’s (Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory EMS Chief) own Chris Fancil along with the Bowen Center,” said Peterson-Stephan.

“So this grant will go to fund a number of community initiatives and roles that will help create and maintain a community of recovery here in Kosciusko County,” he said.

In a press release, Bowen detailed what all the grant will be used for.

That includes several peer recovery coaches who will work through the Bowen Center and Fellowship Missions; funding to help with medication to treat addiction; “a workforce recovery coordinator through Live Well Kosciusko who will work with area employers on employee education, development of second chance programs, creation of workplace practices that support recovery and provide those in recovery a chance for employment”; “a recovery coordinator stationed at Fellowship Missions to assist with expansion services and additional beds”; and “a care coordinator through the fire department who will provide community training on naloxone use and distribution and help connect individuals who have overdosed and had emergency response to community treatment and recovery resources.”

“It took this dedicated team of individuals, community leaders and organizations really coming together to identify and quantify gaps in addiction recovery services to secure this funding,” said Peterson-Stephan. “I truly believe that recovery requires community and this grant is a great example of what can be accomplished when the community responds as a united force and takes real action to support recovery.”

“We’re going to have more people trained on how to respond and we’re going to have more people responding, so it’s going to be a great resource,” added Fancil.