Governor DeWine Forms RecoveryOhio Minority Health Working Group

Press Release

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, following a new report by the Ohio Department of Health, today announced the formation of the RecoveryOhio Minority Health Working Group to make recommendations on reducing overdose deaths among minority populations. The Ohio Drug Overdose Data: Demographic Summary shows that in 2017, black non-Hispanic males had the highest overdose death rate in Ohio.

"One of the RecoveryOhio Advisory Council's Initial Report recommendations was to convene a focus group to review the impact of Ohio's mental illness and addiction services on every Ohio resident, and that's exactly what we are doing," said Governor DeWine. "This report reinforces the fact that we need to ensure that we are serving all Ohioans with mental illness and substance use disorder, regardless of their racial, ethnic, geographic, and socio-economic differences."

"Ohio's preliminary 2018 data continues to show that African American men have the highest overdose death rate in the state, " said Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton, M.D. "Analyzing these types of trends will help state and local initiatives in combatting mental health and substance use disorders and preventing overdoses and overdose deaths by suggesting where new resources could have a greater impact."

In the coming months, the working group will hear from those impacted by mental health and substance use disorders from across the state, in order to learn about their concerns regarding disparities in prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery supports. The RecoveryOhio Minority Health Working group will then develop solutions to resolve these discrepancies and ensure the state has the tools needed to provide culturally appropriate services to meet the needs of all Ohioans.

The working group is comprised of state and community leaders. Initial members include:

Stephen Massey -- Citi Lookout and RecoveryOhio Advisory Council, Co-Chair
Ronald C. Todd, II -- Minority Affairs Liaison, Office of the Governor, Co-Chair
Johnnie (Chip) Allen -- Ohio Department of Health
Director Lilleana Cavanaugh -- Latino Affairs Commission
Pastor John Coates -- Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance
Richard Confer -- Recovery Works
John Gregory -- National Center for Urban Solutions
Ray Jones -- The Jones Company of America
Dr. Navdeep Kang -- Mercy Health Systems and RecoveryOhio Advisory Council
Pastor Cornell Lewis -- Expanding Visions Ministries
Dr. Abdullahi Murbarak -- Hartland Therapeutics
Director Alisha Nelson -- RecoveryOhio Initiative
Director Michele Reynolds -- Governor's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
Shane Satterfield -- City of Cincinnati
Mike Ward -- Cornerstone Project
Members will continue to be added as the group begins their work.

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