State program helps reunify local families

SANDUSKY — Athletes aspiring to compete at high levels and win big games need skilled coaches so they can achieve their championship desires.And, similarly, local officials believe people entering recovery require experienced mentors, with firsthand knowledge of substance abuse issues, guiding them to their ultimate victory — a life of sobriety.Earlier this year, through a partnership between Erie County Job and Family Services, Sandusky Artisans Recovery Community Center and The LCADA Way, the three local organizations brought the Ohio START program to Erie County.START, an acronym for "Sobriety, Treatment And Reducing Trauma," provides specialized services for qualifying adults losing custody of their children to foster care, a boarding home or some other government-approved living arrangement.The program's ultimate objective revolves around reunifying these adults with their children and thus stabilizing families, harmed by drug and alcohol use, within six months after a case starts."That's our whole goal: to keep the children in the home," said Chris Ruff, the area's peer mentor supervisor for Erie County's Ohio START program.Most notably, the program pairs these adults with a certified peer mentor — a trained professional previously struggling with drugs and/or alcohol but overcame the addiction — who provides advice to their clients embarking on a path of recovery.Peer mentors make themselves available to clients 24/7. Mentors, for instance, ensure clients immediately take behavioral health assessments, provided by The LCADA Way, and attend counseling sessions. Mentors often tag along with clients to meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, and other medical appointments."We also do this so they become engaged with the recovery community," Ruff said. "By doing this, and being around people in recovery, (the client) will be more likely to live a self-led life toward their recovery. The peer mentor's goal is to help the client meet their goals so their life can look the way they want it to look."Ruff, who's maintained his sobriety for about five years, reports findings coming from mentors and clients to Erie County Job and Family Services. Based upon those documents, the agency then decides whether an adult can regain full custodial rights of his or her child."These peer mentors have experience and the history and know how the system works, and they are passing on that knowledge to the people they're working with," said AJ Lill, the deputy director of social programs for Erie County Job and Family Services. "That's invaluable."Early successesOhio Gov. Mike DeWine provided $160,000 to Erie County for a one-year test run of Ohio START. The money could fund upward of 12 individual cases, translating into a dozen individuals linking up with peer mentors over this funding cycle.While still in the early stages, those supervising Ohio START efforts in Erie County consider it a success.Of the four area residents receiving these services today:• Two people are 60 days sober.• One person is 90 days sober.• One person recently regained custody of the child."So far, this program has reduced the number of kids in our custody and reduced how much docket time we take up in the courts," said Karen Balconi Ghezzi, Erie County Job and Family Services executive director.As of early August, Erie County supervised 84 children in its custody. While still a high number, according to officials, it's substantially lower than figures from a period spanning 2012 and 2017, when, at any given time, the number hovered around 100.Ohio START can also cut down on how much money county taxpayers pay for foster care, boarding homes and other similar custody-related programs.Since 2012, boarding costs have increased, translating to county residents spending somewhere between $2 million and $3 million annually for housing children. Before 2012, boarding costs totaled about $1 million per year.Though the program concerns itself more with saving lives than dollars, officials said."What Ohio START is doing is keeping families together," Balconi Ghezzi said. "You can't put a price on that."Switching rolesKerry Desmarais, unfortunately, knows how the process works.On April 30, 2018, she lost custody of her then-3-week-old daughter, Emery. Desmarais allegedly drove while intoxicated with Emery in the car and received several charges, including operating a vehicle under the influence, child endangerment, drug paraphernalia possession, among other offenses."I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest," said Desmarais, a Sandusky resident.Over the next four months, Desmarais committed herself to bring Emery back in her life on a full-time basis. Doing this meant never again touching an illegal substance.So she attended intensive outpatient treatments several times a week in addition to counseling sessions and other treatments."I did everything I needed to do just to keep my visitation rights," Desmarais said. "I worked as hard as I possibly could."Now Desmarais, who's remained clean ever since her arrest and regained full custodial rights of Emery, wants to assist others going through familiar struggles.Right now, she's nearly finished with all the necessary requirements to become a certified peer mentor, working with those qualifying for Ohio START. It's possible she could begin providing mentor services in a few weeks."I was completely broken, but I had a lot of guidance and support when I reached out for it," Desmarais said. "Now I want to be on the other side of it. I know the stress. I know what it takes to do it. I know the right ways to go about it. I know there are certain things that need to be done in extreme time frames in regards to children. I want to help people be able to keep their children."While Desmarais regained custody of her daughter without Ohio START, she noted it would've definitely helped her — and knows others can benefit from it."I am absolutely in love with the program," she said. "I didn't have someone directly helping guide me or motivating me. I had to search that out on my own. But with Ohio START, you have someone there advocating for you and trying to help you the best as they can."The No. 1 lesson she'll share with and stress to clients: "If you make a mistake, just do better," she said. "Try to better your life every day. I want to give people that hope and inspiration because that is a great feeling."It's one of the many reasons why she serves as a role model in the area's addiction recovery movement, Ruff said."With Kerry's lived experience, she will be there to give families the hope and guidance so they can also reunify, just like she did with her daughter." Following upFor more information on the Ohio START program, contact:• Erie County Job and Family Services at ERIE_CSEA_PAR221@jfs.ohio.gov or 419-626-6781• Sandusky Artisans Recovery Community Center at joeysupina@aol.com or 419-627-9377Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.The Ohio START program in Erie County helps reunify adults losing custody of their children due to a substance abuse issue. The local program is led by Chris Ruff. Kerry Desmarais is training to become a peer mentor, helping those adults. Both Ruff and Desmarais have committed themselves to living a life of sobriety.