Communities keep momentum in fight against addiction | News, Sports, Jobs

As we begin 2026, I am filled with optimism for the progress Ohio is making in the fight against addiction. Across our state, communities are working together to save lives, support families, and restore hope. This year, we have both the responsibility and the opportunity to build on that momentum.

This past year marked a turning point for the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, the nonprofit organization created by our state’s leaders to manage and invest 55 percent of the funds received from the national opioid settlements. Through its first cycle of regional grants, the Foundation awarded more than $45 million to projects across all 19 regions of the state. These grants are supporting prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm-reduction programs that meet people where they are and reflect the needs of each community.

Now OneOhio is preparing for Regional Grant Cycle 2, which will invest another $45.7 million statewide beginning in early 2026. Each region, including eastern Ohio’s Region 11, which I am proud to represent on the Foundation’s board, will have new resources to invest in local priorities. It is an exciting next step in our shared mission to turn settlement dollars into lasting, life-changing investments.

We have already seen what this funding can do.

In the first round, Region 11–covering Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Jefferson, Muskingum, and Tuscarawas counties–received more than $1.6 million to support nine projects. These locally driven initiatives place a strong emphasis on prevention, recovery, and support for children and families.

Examples of funded projects include the City of Salem’s Recovery Resource Hub, which is building a central home for peer support, navigation, and community recovery services. The Family Recovery Center received funding to strengthen school-based prevention and youth resilience programs. Tuscarawas County Job and Family Services launched The Prevention Bridge Project to help foster youth and families affected by addiction. Anazao Community Partners and the Holmes County General Health District expanded telehealth access, case management, and naloxone distribution. And Cedar Ridge Behavioral Health Solutions is bringing mobile treatment and recovery outreach directly to communities that need it most.

These projects, large and small, demonstrate how the marriage of regional collaboration and local leadership is transforming lives. The challenges may differ across our region, but the spirit of resilience and partnership is the same everywhere. From recovery coaches to county health leaders to nonprofit volunteers, people are stepping up to ensure that every Ohioan has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive, and hopeful life.

While serving as executive director of the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association until my retirement in the fall of 2023, I saw firsthand how the opioid epidemic struck at the heart of our workforce and communities. But I also saw the power of second chances when employers hire individuals in recovery, when agencies partner to provide training and wraparound supports, and when communities believe in people’s potential to rebuild. That same spirit defines OneOhio’s work today.

As we move into 2026, our focus is clear: Keep building. Keep learning. Keep supporting what works. Every grant the Foundation awards undergoes a rigorous, transparent review with local input and independent expert oversight. Every dollar is an investment not just in programs, but in people–the counselors, peer coaches, teachers, and recovery leaders who make hope possible every day.

Ohio’s progress is real, but our work is far from done. By strengthening prevention, expanding access to treatment, and empowering recovery, we are creating communities where resilience overcomes despair.

Together, we are proving that with collaboration, accountability, and compassion, recovery is not just possible, it is happening. And in the new year, we will keep that momentum going.

Jeanette Wierzbicki is a member of the Board of Directors of the OneOhio Recovery Foundation representing Region 11. She retired as executive director of the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association in 2023 after 12 years leading efforts to strengthen Appalachian Ohio’s communities and workforce.