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Special section on addiction published by The Daily Record, Wooster, OH, on July 30, 2014.
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Page 1: The Addiction Battle

D1Addiction

Page 2: The Addiction Battle

D2 — Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Addiction THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

Substance abuse has impact on entire families

WOOSTER — The consequence of substance abuse for families is “this thing that keeps growing exponentially from a root cause.”

It’s how Cameron Maneese, executive direc-tor of Wayne County Family and Children First Council, describes the problem of substance abuse affecting not only the abusers, but also their family members, particu-larly children, beginning as early as in the womb if a pregnant woman is alco-hol- or drug-dependent.

Drug abuse spans a range of problems, encompassing instabil-ity of housing, maintain-ing jobs, economic secu-rity, law enforcement and trauma to families and

children.It can begin as early as

fetal growth, in which 90 percent of brain devel-opment occurs between the prenatal period and 3 years of age, Maneese pointed out, with a moth-er’s substance abuse adversely affecting the fetus in utero.

Chaos within the home related to drug and alcohol abuse — under-mining the family sys-tem and environment — also causes problems for a child; trauma liter-ally alters how the brain works, Maneese said. It changes the brain’s syn-apses and structures, Maneese said, thereby affecting learning.

“(There is) a lot of sci-ence behind it ... to the point where we under-stand it changes DNA. That’s the big scare.”

Part of the scien-tific proof offered by Maneese is a study by Dr. Cara Wellman, a profes-sor of neuroscience and psychology at Indiana

University, reported in a June 15 NPREd article by Anya Kamenetz.

It said, “Dendrites, which look like micro-

scopic fingers, stretch off each brain cell to catch information. Wellman’s studies in mice show that chronic stress causes

these fingers to shrink, changing the way the brain works. She found deficiencies in the pre-frontal cortex — the part

of the brain needed to solve problems, which is crucial to learning.

By LINDA HALLStaff Writer

Children are impacted even in the womb

Dan Starcher photo/www.buydrphotos.comCameron Maneese, executive director of Wayne County Family and Children First Council,

says substance abuse spans a range of problems including trauma to families and children.

See Pg. D3 — IMPACT

D2Addiction

Page 3: The Addiction Battle

THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio Addiction Wednesday, July 30, 2014 — D3

(From Page D2)

Impact

Additionally, accord-ing to the article, “Other researchers link chronic stress to a host of cognitive effects, including trouble with attention, concentra-tion, memory and creativ-ity.”

As children move through their developmental phases and the school system, their growth has already been damaged.

Not only is academic readiness impacted, but social dynamics as well. For example, they must “de-escalate from temper tantrums to self-soothe,” Maneese said.

In general, they’re not meeting with success in the classroom, and “down the road ... we’re talking about removal (from their home),” she said, pointing out the process of re-unifi-cation of families is a dif-ficult one.

“Any time the child has to be removed, it adds another layer of trauma,” Maneese said, describing “a week in our life ... like a year in theirs. That’s a life-time to a child.”

“This is not by choice; this is by mandate,” she said, a situation which gener-ates anger and resistance among family members. Stress “cannot be underes-timated.”

As another consequence, “if anything takes a toll on our families, it will reflect in our communi-ties,” Maneese said, noting that intervention related to drugs and domestic vio-lence and parents who are abusing drugs and alcohol is required by the commu-nity.

“Whenever we see drugs and alcohol impact a fam-ily, we see shredding of (its) fiber .... requiring others to fix.”

Businesses, faith-based organizations, agencies and the whole community have to think about education and prevention, she said,

adding, every person has to have access to that infor-mation.

The unfortunate news is that based on the economic situation, “the thing that got cut from everybody’s (agency) budget was pre-vention.”

Based on fewer resourc-es, “you have to deal with the injured person with limited dollars before you try to prevent injury,” she said, adding, “Prevention has always been the hard-est thing to show outcomes for ... in an outcome-driven world.”

Maneese elaborated that other issues — criminal behavior (linked to) sus-taining an addiction, mental health disorders, addiction-driven behavior — are all linked to substance abuse.

Even housing is affected if family members are not gainfully employed, she said, diminishing a family’s ability to meet basic needs.

It’s going to affect a fam-ily financially and “use up a lot of money,” said Cheryl Thomas, Ph.D., STEPS and Every Woman’s House.

If there is a divorce over the issue of substance abuse, the single parent also faces poverty, Thomas said. “Either way, (the fam-ilies) are suffering. Their basic needs are (often) not being met.”

“When families start to fragment and disintegrate, (there is) a cost to the com-munity, a dollar amount,” demanding “an inordi-nate amount of structure,” Maneese said, to repair and heal them.

For example, schools must provide special education and intervention, although that “is not their mission.”

There is a secondary, physical outcome from trauma — obesity, asthma, diabetes, heart disease ... “all can be correlated to trauma,” Maneese said.

The increased likelihood of physical health prob-lems carries into adulthood, Thomas said.

The rate of substance abuse, suicide, depression, general mental health and physical complications increase proportionally to one another, she said, aug-mented by an increase in risky sexual relationships and disease.

“It can affect every part of their life,” Thomas said of youth involved in their own or family members’ substance abuse.

Children in those families are often misdiagnosed as having ADHD because the symptoms may look alike, Thomas said.

In children, the symptoms could be linked to the sub-stance abuse of an adult in their family; in teens, it may be linked to their own, Thomas said.

Children may not do as well at school or get along with other students, she said. “With all that, there can be behavioral prob-lems and misdiagnoses.”

The belief of Dr. Bruce Perry, senior fellow of The Child Trauma Academy in Houston, “and I agree with it,” Thomas said, is that it may take years to recover from trauma.

In March, The Village Network announced its new model of treatment, based on Perry’s Neurose-quential Model of Thera-peutics, which involves retraining the brains of chil-dren and youth to repair and heal the areas in which development was impaired by abuse and neglect.

At that time, Dave Pax-ton, TVN’s chief strategy and innovation officer, pointed out that “every developmental stage depends upon the healthy development of the previ-ous stage.”

Family members of addicted people may think they don’t need help; that if the addict is “fixed,” all the problems are eliminated as well, but there are “so many other consequences,” Thomas said.

“They don’t realize that there is help out there for them; they often don’t know to ask, or maybe the addict doesn’t want them to know,” Thomas said, emphasizing, not just the addicts need help; “family members do, too, and it’s available.”

In all respects, the impact of substance abuse is long-lasting, Maneese said, particularly for “our chil-dren ... who have a longer legacy ... because of brain development,” requiring “more time and energy” in mitigating the damage, Maneese said.

“Trauma impacts a gen-eration and the generation to come,” Maneese said, which is “why we push to become trauma-informed.”

“We have enough natural trauma in life, (based upon) no one’s choice. It’s bad enough (without) adding in a layer that doesn’t have to be there.”

“We’re affecting a gen-eration ... how children will parent ... how they will (behave) in the world,” she said. Related to community resources, “we’ll be looking at this 50 years from now.”

The question is “whether

(these children) will have future aspirations ... wheth-er they will rise above (their circumstances),” said Maneese, who “loves the skate park” and watching those who get back up after they fall down. “Something inside them says, get back up. I’m going to take the risk, fall down, get back up, do it again.

“I think it’s huge,” she said, mirroring the resil-ience she hopes children can have in making a come-back from childhood abuse.

Reporter Linda Hall can be reached at 330-264-1125, Ext. 2230, or [email protected]. She is @lin-dahallTDR on Twitter.

The Daily Record staff talked to area social ser-vice agencies and people who have or are battling addiction issues. The sto-ries in this section look at causes, recovery, impact on family and the community, including reentry into soci-ety and the obstacles peo-ple who are addicts face.

About this section

Family members of addicted peo-ple may think they don’t need help; that if the addict is “fixed,” all the problems are eliminated as well, but there are “so many other con-sequences.”

Cheryl Thomas, Ph.D., STEPS and Every Woman’s House

D3Addiction

Page 4: The Addiction Battle

D4 — Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Addiction THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

Social services agencies can give structure to youths

WOOSTER — Poor health and trouble with the law are not the only effects of substance abuse. It also affects the social well being of a sub-stance abuser and his or her family.

Addiction can create an environment in which it is difficult for children to thrive, according to Ken Ward, executive director at AnAzAO Commu-nity Partners.

Ward said that while addiction shows up throughout his agency’s programming, it is the Fitting it All Together (FIAT) program, which is designed for youth at risk of ending up in the court system, where this trend is most notable.

“It’s really staggering,” he said, explaining while there is no way of know-ing how wide the scope of the issue is within the program, they definitely have youth who show the tell-tale signs of those liv-ing with parents suffering from addiction.

“They are so lacking of self-esteem,” Ward said.

With parents who are constantly trying to feed their addictions or are under the influence of some kind of substance, he described how there “is a phenomenal lack of supervision.” As a result, Ward said they do not have someone guiding them in life.

But it is not just evi-dence from the FIAT program shedding light on how many youth are living with addicted par-ents. Ward said there have been reports describing the prevalence of the issue for some time.

One such report describing the scope of the issue was a 2009 report by The national

Survey on Drug Use and Health. Titled “Children Living with Substance-Dependent or Substance-Abusing Parents: 2002 to 2007,” the report says that between 2002-07, 8.3 million children in the United States lived in a home with a substance abusing parent.

John Dillon, Wayne County Children Ser-vices’ quality assurance/ staff development man-ager, said data from the agency’s 2013 annual report corroborates that as well.

He said the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has esti-mated 35 percent of children in the system below 10 years of age are there, in part, because of addicted parents.

In total, the annu-al report says Wayne County has 86 children between the ages of 0-6 in its system. As a result, he said about 30 children are in the system as a result of parental sub-stance abuse.

The agency’s clinical director, Robin Troyer, said children end up in the system or in pro-grams like FIAT because their parents are not able to “meet the supervisory needs of their kids.”

From not bringing in paychecks to failing to provide parental support, she said one effect of parental substance abuse is ,the family structure children usually thrive in is turned on its head. Troyer said this often results in children acting out and having trouble in school.

“There is not always someone to help with homework after school,” she said. “These are kids that are basically fending for themselves.”

She said it is for that reason that programs like

FIAT are so important. Ward agreed and said it gives youth a positive experience.

Whether they experi-ence positivity through getting better grades through the Hoops and Homework Club or learn how use physical activ-ity to relax through the After School Martial Arts Club, he said after school programs like FIAT are important for both keeping youth on track to be successful and keeping them from going down the path of addic-tion.

While AnAzAO offers programming that could benefit youth whose par-ents are dealing with sub-stance abuse, it isnot the only ones. For instance, the YMCA of Wooster offers opportunities at The Spot.

Meeting after school throughout the year and throughout the summer in the form of a sum-mer camp, YMCA of Wooster’s Youth and

Teen Director Jessica Patterson said The Spot provides them an impor-tant tool.

“Something struc-tured,” she said.

Patterson said the group provides com-munity youth, some of whom come from homes influenced by addiction, with a familiar face that cares about them. Like Ward, she said the group is really all about creat-ing a positive environ-ment for youth.

Positivity is a theme for many nonprofits address-ing the issue of children living in homes with addictive parents. STEPS at Liberty Center Con-nections Associate Direc-tor Lara Kiefer said one environment they have is at the Suboxone clinics.

Often, she said, youth will come with their par-ents who are getting a dose of the drug to treat their addiction. There, Kiefer said, youth get to see adults interacting in ways different than they

are used to at home and learn to view their par-ent’s addiction in a dif-ferent way.

She said youth who come to the clinics “(grow) up understand-

ing that their parents have a medical disease.”

Reporter Thomas Doo-han can be reached at 330-287-1635 or [email protected].

By THOMAS DOOHANStaff Writer

The Spot camp counselor Nate Radcliffe has a good time as camper Chayce Rusell gives him a good workout on the tire swing. YMCA of Wooster’s Youth and Teen Director Jessica Patterson said programs like The Spot are good opportunities for youth, with and without addict-ed parents, to experience structure.

Mike Schenk photos/www.buydrphotos.comLillian Smith, Malik McCartney and Jason Morgan are busy making hands for their helping hands

project in which they think up 10 ways they can help the community. Creating positive environments is important for any youth.

D4Addiction

Page 5: The Addiction Battle

THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio Addiction Wednesday, July 30, 2014 — D5

A variety of factors may lead to substance abuse

M I L L E R S B U R G — Defying easy diagnosis, substance abuse can stem from a variety of factors. There is no single path to addiction.

In the words of Cheryl Thomas, outpatient coordi-nator at STEPS at Liberty Center Connection, “With addiction, there’s never just one thing. There are always several causes.”

One such cause is genetic predispositions, which lead some people to develop addictions very quickly.

While some people can drink themselves into alcoholism — one addic-tive substance — the vast

majority of cases stem from a prior genetic pre-disposition, according to Thomas, who also said pre-dispositions cause a more heightened physiological response to the substance, akin to a “hijacking” of the brain.

“For some people, when they have that drink for the first time, they get a little better buzz than the rest of us,” Thomas said. “A lot of that happens in the area of the brain that con-trols urges, and when the brain reacts, it builds till it becomes a compulsion.”

Predispositions can be compounded by early exposure to substances — when brains and bod-ies are not fully developed

and have less of a defense against the effects of any mood-altering chemi-cal, noted Bobbi Doug-las, executive director at STEPS.

“Kids who use before the age of 18 are four times as likely to have problems later in life,” she said, “and research indicates the lon-ger you can delay a young

person using alcohol or a drug, the less likely they are to develop an addic-tion.”

That research corrobo-rates what Joe Messner,

counselor and clinical director of AnAzAO Community Partners, has seen in his years of practice.

By BRANDON ZAFFINIStaff Writer

Brandon Zaffini photo/www.buydrphotos.comCheryl Thomas, outpatient coordinator, con-

ducts a counseling session at STEPS at Liberty Center Connection as part of an ongoing effort to help clients face and conquer their addic-tions. With addiction and substance dependen-cies, “there’s never just one thing,” according to Thomas. “There are always several causes.”

See Pg. D7 — FACTORS

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Page 6: The Addiction Battle

D6 — Wednesday, July 30, 2014 THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

There is hope

Treatment programs can work

WOOSTER — While some addicts choose to get clean on their own accord, some are sent to treatment centers or programs as part of a court order.

“In general, we always try to address the sub-stance abuse problem,” Wayne County Munici-pal Court Judge Timo-thy R. VanSickle said. Although many cases do not list substance abuse as part of the docket, VanSickle said many symptoms of a drug or alcohol problem are seen in Municipal Court.

“The vast majority of cases we see, there is an underlying problem with substance abuse,” Van-Sickle said. In about 75 percent of the cases seen in municipal court, Van-Sickle said substance abuse of some sort is involved. “We see peo-ple that come from all walks of life. No one is immune to it.”

Intervention through rehabilitation, counsel-ing, monitoring and drug testing can be enforced in order to correct a drug or alcohol issue. In the average sentencing, VanSickle said he asks the defendant to find some sort of in-patient or out-patient program.

The biggest problem, VanSickle said, is that some who need the help cannot afford a costly rehab program, which could cost up to $1,000 per month. While some government assistance is available, it’s hard to come by, he said.

One treatment center is trying to alleviate the expensive price tag for

in-patient programs.New Destiny Treat-

ment Center in Clinton tries to raise extra rev-enue to aid those who need help through its three thrift stores in Barberton, Massillon and Wooster. Proceeds from the New Destina-tions Thrift Stores are used to lessen the cost of treatment programs at New Destiny.

Bob Bolois, director of New Destiny, said the facility currently houses up to 65 men for in-patient treatment and between 160-180 men for weekly out-patient treatment. The center opened in 1993 and has eight buildings on 13 acres.

“There might be 10 to 15 percent that get court-ordered,” Bolois said. “Other than that, they come here on their own.”

The in-patient program lasts for nine months,

which Bolois said is the proven amount of time needed to break the habit.

“Once they start on drugs or alcohol, they become emotionally bankrupt,” Bolois said. “These people are not coming from an ivory palace. They’re com-ing from all parts of

the country where their environment is ruthless.”

“When you’re a drug user, you’re throwing the towel in,” said Lou Ann Scharf, manager of the Wooster thrift store. “You’re saying, ‘I can’t live life on normal stan-dards.’”

By ABBY ARMBRUSTER

Staff Writer

Mike Schenk photos/www.buydrphotos.comNew Destinations Thrift Store manager Lou Ann Scharf shows off the

vast showroom at the Wooster location. Scharf originally volunteered at Barberton’s thrift store location until she became manager of Wooster’s store. Scharf said she thanks New Destiny Treatment Center for giving her husband back to her and their three children.

Elsie Ross looks at a pair of shoes at New Des-tinations Thrift Store. All proceeds go to sup-port men going through in- or out-patient treat-ment at New Destiny Treatment Center in Clinton. Wooster’s thrift store location has been open for eight years.

See Pg. D10 — HOPE

D6Addiction

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Page 7: The Addiction Battle

THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio Addiction Wednesday, July 30, 2014 — D7

Reentry into society has lots of challenges

WOOSTER — Terri Brooks has been in the job market for the past nine months, and despite her best efforts, she still cannot find work.

The 45-year-old finds herself in a transitional period. She has done office work, and she has cleaned houses. Over the past 31⁄2 years, she has taken more than three dozen courses, including a computer repair program.

Brooks goes to the Wayne County Employ-ment & Training Con-nection/Ohio Means Jobs center every week look-ing for opportunities and has been on interviews, however, she just cannot seem to clear the obsta-cles before her. As for what is holding her back, Brooks is very clear: “My past has hindered me.” She was convicted of felo-nies involving theft from a senior and multiple counts of forgery. It’s tough find-ing work when people look at you differently, she said.

Since 2012, the state

has been working to pro-mote the formation of re-entry coalitions to help ex-offenders like Brooks be successful as they re-enter the community after being released from pris-on. When the state began its push, 26 counties had some type of coalition, alliance or partnership to help in this process. As of May, there are now 79 counties.

Wayne and Holmes counties received grant funding, first to start a juvenile re-entry program and later one for adults. While grant funding was available, Tammy Jack-son of AnAzAO Com-munity Partners served as the coordinator of the Wayne-Holmes Reentry Coalition.

The coalition’s goals are to assist offenders as they re-enter the community in an effort to become law-abiding and productive citizens. Jackson said pre-viously the group’s three goals are to re-integrate an offender into society, reduce recidivism and maintain public safety.

Though the coalition is not receiving grant dol-

lars, Jackson continues to volunteer her time and a realignment of some of her duties at AnAzAO permits her to do some case management.

For ex-offenders, re-entering the community

can be an incredible chal-lenge, especially if they do not have a strong, supportive family wait-ing, said Robert Smedley, associate director of the Mental Health & Recov-ery Board of Wayne &

Holmes Counties.For the reintroduction

to the community to be

successful, Smedley said

By BOBBY WARRENStaff Writer

Bobby Warren photo/www.buydrphotos.comWayne County Adult Probation Officer Cindy Kuhl (left) says Terri Brooks is not only working on her

recovery, but she is helping others, too.

“One thing I’ve noticed, especially in the adults I’ve worked with, is they’ve had very early exposure to alcohol, sometimes at first in a normal way, but then in a way that we would con-sider more atypical,” said Messner.

“In and of itself, that doesn’t lead to addic-tion,” he added, “but it sets the first step.”

But the seeds of addic-tions are not always planted early in life

“I’ve been amazed at clients who didn’t use

substances until well into their 20s,” said Midge Roberts, director of pre-vention and intervention at AnAzAO, who also noted that “emotional stressors, anxiety and depression” often end up being contributing fac-tors.

According to Messner, these stressors have only increased and intensified over the last decade.

“There’s been a lot of social stressors since 9/11,” he said, “We’ve been under a lot of pres-sure economically and with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and under

that pressure, some peo-ple are going to start to crack and have prob-lems.”

Yet even emotion-al stressors, prevalent though they may be, are an unreliable measure of potential addiction.

“When it comes to peo-ple facing trauma, I’ll find one person who is addict-ed and one who is not,” said Thomas. “And I’ve even worked with people who haven’t faced any major traumas in their young life, but they’re still addicted to a substance.”

In the end, the exact causes of addiction

remain unclear, noted Douglas, and avoiding addictions, at least for those with genetic predis-positions, can be tremen-dously difficult.

That’s not to say addicts are helpless, or that they have no choice.

“A person can always make the right decision about how to address their addiction,” said Douglas, “whether through treat-ment options or by choos-ing a healthier lifestyle.”

Reporter Brandon Zaf-

fini can be reached at 330-674-5676 or [email protected].

(From Page D5)

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See Pg. D9 — REENTRY

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Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Trays Available upon request

Southern Pecan Pie (serves 10 - 12) $9.99

Apple Caramel Walnut Pie (serves 10 - 12) $9.99

Coffee Cake (serves 8 - 10) $15.99

Carrot Cake (serves 12) $17.99

New York Style Cheesecake (serves 10 - 12) $10.99

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Cookie .99¢

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LUNCHDINNER

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Supreme Sandwich Tray (6 person minimum; pricing per person) $6.99 ppChoose from an assortment of our most popular sandwiches, cut in halves and presented on a bountiful buffet tray. Our sandwiches feature HoneyBaked signature meats. Includes chips.

Triple Treat Platter (6 person minimum; pricing per person) $4.99 ppCreate your own custom meat tray with your favorite combination of The HoneyBaked Ham, Smoked or Roasted Turkey Breast and Roast Beef.

The Complete Meal $10.99 ppEverything you need for easy ordering. Including the sandwich platter, chips, choice of home style side, assorted dessert platter, and beverages. Includes all serving ware you’ll need.

Mini Sandwich Platter $4.99 ppMini Sandwiches with lettuce and tomato filled with HoneyBaked Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef, Chicken Salad, & Ham Salad.

Friend in Need Package $59.99 ppA thoughtful gift to show appreciation, celebration or sympathy. New Baby, Get well, Bereavement, or just to show you care! Included 7 lb. bone-in Ham and two heat and serve side dishes.

Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Trays Available upon request

Southern Pecan Pie (serves 10 - 12) $9.99

Apple Caramel Walnut Pie (serves 10 - 12) $9.99

Coffee Cake (serves 8 - 10) $15.99

Carrot Cake (serves 12) $17.99

New York Style Cheesecake (serves 10 - 12) $10.99

Cheesecake Sampler (serves 12) $19.99

Cookie .99¢

Brownie $1.39

Cookie Temptation Tray (2 dozen — 24) $25.99Mmm! These scrumptious cookies are hard to resist.

Brownie Indulgence Tray (1 dozen — 12) $21.99Soft chewy brownies, generously sized to satisfy serious sweet cravings.

Brownie & Cookie Tray (serves 20) $27.99Indulge in a delicious assortment of cookies and brownies.

Buffet Trays

Pies & Cakes

Cookies & Brownies

BuffetsDesserts

BeveragesBefore placing your order, please inform us if a person

in your party has a food allergy. Wooster Honey Baked • 3786 Burbank Rd #301 Wooster Ohio, 44691 • 330-345-6453

THE HONEYBAKED GUARANTEE We stand behind everything we sell with this simple guarantee: If for any reason you ever ἀfind your HoneyBaked experience less than satisfying, we’ll make it right.

EVEN MORE AT HONEYBAKEDHoneyBaked Gifts

• Family and Friends • Clients and Colleagues •

• Volume Discounts •

HoneyBaked Gift Cards

• No expiration!

• No fees!

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HoneyBaked.com

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LUNCHDINNER

DINE INTAKE OUTCATERING

Assorted Canned Drinks $1.29

VIP Buffet (10 person minimum; pricing per person) $9.49 ppSpread out your all-time favorite sandwich buffet! Select =what you prefer to offer on your HoneyBaked Signature Meat Tray and we’ll fill in everything else your guests need to make great sandwiches; Swiss and cheddar cheese, crisp lettuce, sliced tomatoes, specialty mustards and an assortment of fresh breads. Add your choice of two fresh Deli Sides and offer your guests a selection of our phenomenally tempting cookies for dessert.

Supreme Sandwich Tray (6 person minimum; pricing per person) $6.99 ppChoose from an assortment of our most popular sandwiches, cut in halves and presented on a bountiful buffet tray. Our sandwiches feature HoneyBaked signature meats. Includes chips.

Triple Treat Platter (6 person minimum; pricing per person) $4.99 ppCreate your own custom meat tray with your favorite combination of The HoneyBaked Ham, Smoked or Roasted Turkey Breast and Roast Beef.

The Complete Meal $10.99 ppEverything you need for easy ordering. Including the sandwich platter, chips, choice of home style side, assorted dessert platter, and beverages. Includes all serving ware you’ll need.

Mini Sandwich Platter $4.99 ppMini Sandwiches with lettuce and tomato filled with HoneyBaked Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef, Chicken Salad, & Ham Salad.

Friend in Need Package $59.99 ppA thoughtful gift to show appreciation, celebration or sympathy. New Baby, Get well, Bereavement, or just to show you care! Included 7 lb. bone-in Ham and two heat and serve side dishes.

Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Trays Available upon request

Southern Pecan Pie (serves 10 - 12) $9.99

Apple Caramel Walnut Pie (serves 10 - 12) $9.99

Coffee Cake (serves 8 - 10) $15.99

Carrot Cake (serves 12) $17.99

New York Style Cheesecake (serves 10 - 12) $10.99

Cheesecake Sampler (serves 12) $19.99

Cookie .99¢

Brownie $1.39

Cookie Temptation Tray (2 dozen — 24) $25.99Mmm! These scrumptious cookies are hard to resist.

Brownie Indulgence Tray (1 dozen — 12) $21.99Soft chewy brownies, generously sized to satisfy serious sweet cravings.

Brownie & Cookie Tray (serves 20) $27.99Indulge in a delicious assortment of cookies and brownies.

Buffet Trays

Pies & Cakes

Cookies & Brownies

BuffetsDesserts

BeveragesBefore placing your order, please inform us if a person

in your party has a food allergy. Wooster Honey Baked • 3786 Burbank Rd #301 Wooster Ohio, 44691 • 330-345-6453

THE HONEYBAKED GUARANTEE We stand behind everything we sell with this simple guarantee: If for any reason you ever ἀfind your HoneyBaked experience less than satisfying, we’ll make it right.

EVEN MORE AT HONEYBAKEDHoneyBaked Gifts

• Family and Friends • Clients and Colleagues •

• Volume Discounts •

HoneyBaked Gift Cards

• No expiration!

• No fees!

• No fears!

Shop for HoneyBaked gifts

and gift cards at your nearby HoneyBaked store or online at:

HoneyBaked.com

TO ORDER CATERING ONLINE VISIT:MyHoneyBakedStore.com

LUNCHDINNER

DINE INTAKE OUTCATERING

Assorted Canned Drinks $1.29

Wooster Honey Baked • 3786 Burbank Rd #301 Wooster Ohio, 44691 • 330-345-6453

� ere is no greater reward than working from your heart, and making a

diff erence in the world”– Carlos Santana

CATERING

LUNCHDINNERDINE-INTAKE OUT

Page 8: The Addiction Battle

D8Addiction

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Page 9: The Addiction Battle

THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio Addiction Wednesday, July 30, 2014 — D9

From dependency to addiction: It’s a fine line

WOOSTER — Some-times the face of a drug addict looks very differ-ent than that pictured in the movies, television and daily news.

It’s a reality Melinda Kauffman knows well. Kauffman is a nurse who works closely with clients who have devel-oped an opiate depen-dency at STEPS at Lib-erty Center.

She was also one of them, and said she was very close to becoming “that” drug addict.

“If given the opportu-nity, I would have been one on the streets look-ing for heroin. It could be anybody. You can very easily cross over from needing a pill … to shooting up,” said Kauff-

man, who said it took getting caught and being charged criminally for her to break her addic-tion.

In 2002, Kauffman was working elsewhere when she was assaulted by a patient. The resulting back injury led her to her primary care phy-sician and then a pain management specialist, both of whom gave her prescriptions.

For a year, she took the medication as pre-scribed, but gradually grew tolerant to it and dependent on it and “I started to abuse.”

“There’s a fine line between dependency and addiction, but I was able to validate it because it was a pre-scription and I was a nurse and knew what I was doing,” she said. In reality, she didn’t.

She started doctor shopping at emergency rooms to find prescrip-tions to help her bridge the gap between those prescribed by her physi-cians. She said she felt the need to keep herself medicated to fight the sickness that came from withdrawal. It kept her functioning, or so she thought, so she could care for her children and go to work.

She continued to jus-tify her use of the drugs and the extreme — and illegal — means she was going to, to get them because she believed the pain, and need to avoid withdrawal, were both very real. Now she knows it’s a process any-one coming off drugs can go through and it’s normal.

By CHRISTINE L. PRATT

Staff Writer

See Pg. D10 — LINE

(From Page D7)

Reentry

person needs the basics: A roof, food and a job.

It is better for the ex-offender to return to a strong family and not to some unproductive element in the commu-nity, Smedley said. “But, there’s a lot of family disintegration. A lot of people do not return to strong families.”

Fortunately for Brooks, she had a family who supported her during her difficult times and were there for her when she was released in October 2013.

Bobbi Douglas, execu-tive director of Liberty Center Connections, has said stable housing is crit-ical for people in recov-ery.

When Brooks was first released, she lived with her oldest daughter. She has since moved into her

own apartment, and she is thankful for the help she received from STEPS at Liberty Center and People to People Minis-tries. Both provided assis-tance to make the move possible.

Though an addiction did not lead her to commit the crimes to which she pleaded guilty, Brooks continues to work hard on her recovery. She is involved in a 12-step pro-gram, in her church and perhaps too involved in some aspects of her chil-dren’s lives.

After Brooks’ release, she found herself on a specialized docket in Wayne County: The Reentry Court.

People who go through the Reentry Court gener-ally have been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. Brooks was sen-tenced to six years and

was shock-released after 31⁄2. A condition of early release is that the ex-offenders have to appear, initially, twice a month before Judge Mark K. Wiest.

When the ex-offend-ers meet with Wiest, he asks them about what is happening in their lives and how they have been spending their time. If they slip up, then there are sanctions. Some have gone back to prison, but most remain in the com-munity.

While Wiest’s com-ments have been mostly positive, Brooks said he does remind her at times to focus more on herself and not on her three grown children. Brooks said she finds herself always wanting to fix things for them, even though she realizes she cannot.

But, it is part of the pro-cess of trying to rebuild a life that went awry dur-ing a period of her life when she was in a deep depression. When she looks back at what she did, which involved steal-ing checks and forging them, she cannot believe she did it. While at times she misused her anxiety medication by taking more than what was pre-scribed, she did not use the money on drugs. She bought things to try to impress her family.

Though she cannot believe she did what she did, Brooks takes respon-sibility for her actions. She makes no excuses. She might have been going through a deep depression, but today she blames herself and her decisions for her actions.

Brooks has paid her debt to society, but the

consequences of her actions continue to linger.

Employment remains a challenge. All of those courses she took came in prison. The computer repair program used old computers.

But, Brooks continues to press onward. She remains hopeful she will find a job. If she does land work, then transportation will be a problem. It has been a constant challenge since leaving prison.

Brooks receives disabil-ity payments, but she is working to get off disabil-ity. She plans to work with the Ohio Bureau of Voca-tional Rehabilitation on training for a career. She would like to get involved in social work and help people who are deal-ing with drug or alcohol addictions. When she was in prison, she eventually taught seven of the cours-

es. So, working in prisons and helping people with recovery is another ave-nue Brooks would like to explore.

Re-entering society was not easy. At first, it was difficult to look people in the eyes because of the shame and guilt associat-ed with her past, Brooks said. But, things are look-ing up. She is grateful to be a part of her grand-children’s lives.

Those who are fac-ing challenges reenter-ing the community after being released can find out more about the reen-try coalition’s efforts at www.wayneholmesreen-try.com.

Reporter Bobby War-ren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or [email protected]. He is @BobbyWarrenTDR on Twitter.

Submitted photoPatients who become addicted to prescriptive medications they are legiti-

mately prescribed have to hit bottom before they are able to acknowledge a problem and find a solution, according to Dr. Nicole Labor (left) and nurse Melinda Kauffman, both of whom work for STEPS. Kauffman comes at her work with personal experience, having battled addiction herself.

D9Addiction

Page 10: The Addiction Battle

D10 — Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Addiction THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

(From Page D9)

Line

(From Page D6)

Hope

Scharf’s husband was one of the men who sought treatment with-out a court order.

“My husband was so bad off that ... my broth-er-in-law ... knew of the treatment program, and he actually took him in

the car and drove him here ... and dropped him off and left,” Scharf said. “I knew that some-thing had to happen.”

After her husband started the program, she volunteered at the thrift store in Barberton. She was then named the store manager of

Wooster’s branch that opened eight years ago, where she’s been ever since. “I wasn’t going to go around and ... tell people (my husband) was addicted to drugs,” she said. “It’s very hum-bling. ... I didn’t marry a man like that.”

Scharf said she credits

New Destiny for giving her husband back to her and their three children.

“The message that I try to give every family is that there is hope,” Bolois said. “Give us the opportunity to show you that it can be done. ... There’s no rea-son why they can’t get

through this.”For more informa-

tion on New Destiny Treatment Center, call their main line at 330-825-5202. The center is located at 6694 Taylor Road in Clinton.

New Dest inat ions Thrift Store in Wooster is open from 9 a.m.-6

p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday.

Contact Abby Arm-bruster at 330-287-1632 or email her at aarm-b r u s t e r @ t h e - d a i l y -record.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbyarm-bruster.

She survived doing that for nearly two more years … until the ham-mer fell.

During one of her ER visits, a search of the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting Sys-tem (OARRS) showed Kauffman’s prescription history. She was turned away without medica-tion and said she called STEPS that afternoon.

Getting caught, she said, brought with it mixed emotions — “part of you is happy because it’s over and part of you knows you’re in a lot of hot water.”

She quit cold turkey and went through with-drawal with the help of her family. But, her addiction came with an even greater price. Not only was she charged with felonies, her mar-riage fell apart and she lost her nursing license.

She has since gone through counseling, attends 12-step meet-ings, has a sponsor and has regained her license. She also is working on repairing her relation-ship with her husband, from whom she became divorced during her recovery.

The pain is gone and she is drug free.

Now she helps others struggling with the same type of addiction. And, while she says you don’t

have to be in recovery to help addicts, she said her experience helps. “I understand a lot of what they’re saying and the games they play.”

Kauffman’s story is “fairly typical” of peo-ple who have become addicted to prescription drugs as a consequence of chronic pain issues, said Dr. Nicole Labor, who works with STEPS and who specializes in family practice and addiction medicine.

“They justify and rationalize continued use because the pain is so bad,” said Labor, not-ing, “Addiction has very little to do with drugs — it’s the final stages.” She said often patients who become addicted have, consciously or uncon-sciously, started to rely on the drug as a way to cope with other issues in their life — stress, depression, finances, relationships.

She said to determine if a patient may be pre-disposed to addiction, prescribing physicians need to do a better job

taking a complete histo-ry, exploring indications of past dependency on other drugs and alcohol and even other addic-tions, including to food. However, she said, time constraints often pre-vent proper counseling and history gathering.

These addictive drugs can lead to misuse, with patients taking more than the prescribed dos-age to compensate for a growing tolerance and normal withdrawal symptoms.

It’s a response unique to medications that cloud reality and trigger the release of dopamine. “Nobody I know takes more blood pressure medication, insulin or cholesterol medication on their own.”

By the time family and friends realize what’s going on, “it’s probably already a problem.”

And, to get better, Labor said, “A person has to really be ready to acknowledge there’s a problem. Until then, they will find any way to rationalize and will

lie about what they’re doing.”

For example, had Kauffman been con-fronted six months or a year earlier, “she may have started lying or may have sought out heroin or pills on the street.”

Labor said physicians who prescribe addictive medications need to establish specific pro-tocols, including restric-tive time limits, for use of pain medication outside long-term pain manage-ment, which also must be watched very closely. They also need to have up-front discussions with patients about strategies for moving away from drugs when the time comes.

Establ i shment of OARRS, Labor said, has become an integral part of her practice. “I don’t know if I could practice as effectively without it.”

“It’s not just about catching people, it has to do with identifying an addict or potential addict,” she said, noting

pharmacies and some physicians are now doing a much better job in using OARRS as a tool in prescribing.

While some may sug-gest OARRS is turning addicts to the street, where they feed their addiction with black market pills or heroin, which is cheaper to get on the street, it can also force some to confront their addiction, as was the case with Kauffman.

“It didn’t force her to go underground, she sought help. It may help some people, and oth-ers may pursue other methods for obtaining drugs.”

Physicians also need to be cautious in pre-scribing drugs that are categorized as non hab-it-forming, said Labor. While the classification is made because the drugs lack the chemical makeup of an addictive drug, they can become addictive when used by patients to obtain the secondary effect of “seeking out solutions to deal with life.”

In a society that is “much too focused on instant gratification,” treatment of medi-cal conditions is much too often addressed with a pill. Rather, she said, physicians should consider working with patients to find alterna-tive solutions to prob-lems.

Kauffman said she fed her dependency because she was initial-ly concerned that others would judge her if they knew she was experi-encing withdrawal. She now realizes “it’s OK to go through withdrawal.” And she knows that it is not an indicator of addiction, and “it only means your body is dependent on it.”

She said she is grateful for the OARRS system, which helped her con-front what became an addiction for her. “The only reason I’m clean and sober is because of it.”

And, as Kauffman has come to realize, Labor said, the only real treatment for addic-tion is participation in a 12-step program. “It’s a lifelong program. It requires work. It is 100 percent effective for those who do 100 per-cent of the work.”

Nevertheless, she said, attacking the problem on the front end, before addiction takes hold, is best. Otherwise, patients have to hit bottom, and they are the only ones who can decide what bottom is for them. “For some, they never reach it, and they die.”

Reporter Christine Pratt can be reached at 330-674-5676 or cpratt@the-dai ly-record.com. She’s @drnewsgirl on Twitter.

“It’s not just about catching people, it has to do with identifying an addict or potential addict.” Pharmacies and some physicians are now doing a much better job in using Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System as a tool in prescribing.

Dr. Nicole Labor, STEPS at Liberty Center

D10Addiction

Page 11: The Addiction Battle

THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio Addiction Wednesday, July 30, 2014 — D11

No. 1 killer in Ohio .... unintended overdose

WOOSTER — When Emily Estrada stood in front of Judge Mark K. Wiest on Aug. 18, 2011, she was not ready to admit she had much of a problem.

But when he set her bond in Wayne County Common Pleas Court at a whopping $100,000 she was shocked.

“That was pretty much the day he saved my life,” Estrada said. “My charges were very seri-ous ... I was completely out of control.”

Estrada, 32, has lived in Wayne County all of her life. Today, she lives in Apple Creek and maintains a job at P. Graham Dunn.

She is also a recover-ing drug addict after years of suffering, and abusing her prescrip-tions.

As Estrada explained her story, she first start-ed taking prescription drugs at the age of 17 for health issues, per her doctor. She was given a prescription for Vico-din.

“I had no real experi-ence with drugs growing up,” Estrada said. But once she started taking Vicodin in order to cope with her pain, she quick-ly knew one or two pills would make her tired.

“If I take four or five, I don’t need to worry about anything,” Estra-da said.

Estrada used Vicodin on and off for a few years in accordance with her prescription. When she was about 24, she first abused her prescription, a day she recalls vividly.

Estrada said she took a handful of her pills and it made her feel “just completely numb.” She did not particularly enjoy the feeling she got from Vicodin. Instead, she said she was in a place in her life where she wanted to go away.

She kept her expe-riences a secret from her friends and family though, and noted she was not engaged in the stereotypical “party scene” usually associ-ated with drug culture.

Estrada said she would typically abuse her Vico-din prescription alone in her bedroom and didn’t know anyone else who did what she was doing. She continued going to work and tried to main-tain her life as if noth-ing was going on.

She continued to abuse prescription painkillers and got to a point where she would take 60-70 pills in one day.

And this led to her going “doctor shop-ping” and fraudulently trying to obtain more and more pills, where she obtained a doctor’s DEA number and wrote fraudulent prescriptions to feed her addiction and desire to escape her reality.

Wayne County’s pre-scription problem

Over the past few years, the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency has increased its efforts and focused attention on people similar to

Estrada who abuse pre-scription drugs.

Patricia Bintliff and Jim Garrett both work on Medway’s pharma-ceutical diversion unit and have been bringing this message to various organizations around the community.

In 2013, Bintliff told members of Wooster’s Rotary Club, 22 percent of Medway’s drug cases revolved around pre-scription drug issues, as the single largest issue Medway investigated last year. Cocaine was No. 2 at 21 percent, and heroin was third at 18 percent.

Within the umbrella of prescription drugs, oxycodone and hydro-codone are the most abused drugs Medway sees locally.

As opposed to tra-ditional street drugs such as heroin, meth, or cocaine, prescription drugs pose a completely different set of circum-stances. And Bintliff said prescription drug use is on the rise for several reasons.

Prescription drugs can usually be obtained through insurance com-panies; but addicts of other drugs also obtain prescription drugs as a substitute, and pills are more reliable from a “purity” standpoint.

Plus, street values of prescriptions typical-ly make selling pills a profitable enterprise.

Bintliff said typical value for oxycodone is $1 per milligram.

“It’s a sure thing,” she said of manufactured prescription pills. “And insurance will pay for it so (addicts) don’t need to steal money from mom (to support their habits).”

Here in Wayne Coun-ty, prescription drug

abusers can go “doctor shopping” like Estrada, or they can go through unofficial channels and local drug dealers who bring large quantities of opiate-based pills into the area as alternatives to heroin.

Don Hall, director of Medway, said previous-ly that a recent round of indictments of local dealers spawned from the prosecution of Cal-vin Cunningham, 37, of Detroit, Mich., who imported large amounts of prescriptions into the area.

Hall explained that the indictments were mostly for trafficking in

heroin and opiate-based prescription drugs, as confidential informants had been buying large amounts of heroin and oxycontin from mid-lev-el people who dealt with Cunningham before he was sent to prison in January.

“Once the oxycontin was harder to come by, we started seeing lots of heroin,” he said, as the two drugs ebb and flow in their popularity, and availability, in Wooster and Wayne County.

But the reasons to investigate prescription drug crimes are impor-tant, Bintliff added, such as identifying addicts

and getting them into proper treatment. They noted another key dif-ference between people addicted to prescription drugs and others, such as meth, is prescrip-tion drug abusers show no external changes in their bodies.

Essentially, a person can appear to look com-pletely normal but be a prescription drug abus-er, vastly different from track marks on heroin addicts, sores from meth users and other outward signs an addict struggles with.

“The only way we are

By STEVEN F. HUSZAIStaff Writer

Recovery from addiction is possible, but it’s hard work

Bobby Warren photoEmily Estrada is a recovering drug addict after years of suffering, and

abusing her prescriptions before she was sentenced to prison. The differ-ence now, she said, is she has the proper tools to deal with her demons and to not resort to drugs when she feels overwhelmed in life.

See Pg. D12 — OVERDOSE

D11Addiction

Page 12: The Addiction Battle

D12 — Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Addiction THE DAILY RECORD, Wooster, Ohio

(From Page D11)

Overdose

going to beat it is by edu-cating the public,” Garrett said, as education efforts are one step in combatting drug abuse issues. “It’s not

just a law enforcement problem ... it also affects you.”

Medway also started Operation Safe Return in 2009, where “mailboxes” placed around Wayne

County police depart-ments accept expired prescription drugs. And the organization has seen a sharp increase in the amount of drugs dropped off. The pounds of drugs

incinerated the first year amounted to 300, com-pared to more than 2,800 just a few weeks ago.

“When (Garrett) started in law enforcement, they never asked if anyone took any medications,” Bintliff said, when bur-glaries were investigated 30-40 years ago. “Now, it happens every day,” most-ly to elderly victims, she explained.

Across Ohio, prescrip-tion drugs and heroin are top priorities of the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

A fact sheet from the AG’s office notes that the issue has reached epidemic proportions as unintended drug over-doses have overtaken car crashes as the No. 1 killer of Ohioans.

The death rate in Ohio from accidental overdos-es has increased 440 per-cent between 1999-2011 (327 deaths to 1,765 in 2011), an increase largely ascribed to the rise of pre-scription drug abuse and the mixing of drugs.

RecoveryEstrada was eventually

sent to prison to serve her time for her felony charg-es which originated from her addiction in 2011.

She served one year of a three-year sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marys-ville, before Wiest grant-ed Estrada early release from prison. She techni-cally was allowed to apply for judicial release after serving six months, but was determined to fin-ish the Hearts program in prison — a group set-ting of inmates where, as Estrada described it, the ladies “lay it all out there” — and “get to the bot-tom” of why she abused prescription pills.

In prison, Estrada devel-oped friendships and began opening up and sharing her experiences after she realized she lost everything in her life,

including her marriage and relationship with friends and family.

She learned to deal with her issues head on, instead of resorting to drugs to numb her from her life.

One component of her recovery is that Estrada developed a joy of run-ning while in prison, which has carried over into her civilian life. She currently is a member of a running group with herself, others on probation in Wayne County, and some adult probation officers.

The group meets weekly and even ran a 5k race in May together with Judge Wiest.

Shortly before she was sent to prison, Estrada opened up to her family members about her addic-tion.

“I felt so ashamed and embarrassed for a long time,” Estrada said, add-ing she felt like she had “to be perfect” all of the time.

She is still repairing the relationships in her life and admittedly struggles with depression issues. She knows she can’t go around painkillers, or even substances like alco-hol, and doesn’t put her-self in those situations. “I think twice before using ibuprofen,” she said.

The difference now, she said, is she has the prop-er tools to deal with her demons and not resort to drugs when she feels overwhelmed in life.

She still does a lot of

volunteer work by visit-ing inmates at the prison where she stayed and speaking with them. The ladies even developed an “alumni group” where they stay in contact and support one another in their lives and endeav-ors. Estrada also said her faith in God has helped her. “We’re a pretty good team,” she said.

But perhaps the big-gest issue is opening up to herself and others. “For me, reaching out (helps)... instead of shut-ting down,” Estrada said admitting she was a very private person and advised anyone struggling with addiction to start reaching out, too. “To open myself up is OK ... it takes a lot of hard work,” instead of keeping her addiction and problems a secret.

Estrada has done extremely well on her probation and was even granted a one-week vaca-tion to leave the state and visit friends earlier this summer.

“What my life looks like now is better than it ever could be,” Estrada said, as she is training to run a half-marathon later this year, hopefully with mem-bers from her running group.

Reporter Steve Huszai can be reached at 330-287-1645 or [email protected]. He is @GeneralSmithie on Twit-ter.

Estrada is still repairing the rela-tionships in her life and admittedly struggles with depression issues. She knows she can’t go around painkillers, or even substances like alcohol, and doesn’t put herself in those situations. “I think twice before using ibuprofen,” she said.

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