Photo Provided Michelle Corella, executive director of Milton Jefferson Recovery, speaks during a Community Connections meeting hosted by the Jefferson County Educational Service Center Resource Network.

WINTERSVILLE — The Jefferson County Educational Service Center Resource Network welcomed Milton Jefferson Recovery residential drug and alcohol treatment facility during the quarterly Community Connections meeting Dec. 12. The recovery center opened its doors early November and found that service agencies could count on local supports when coming to Jefferson County.

Developed and offered through the Jefferson County Educational Service Center (JCESC), and funded by the Jefferson County Commissioners, the Jefferson County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Jefferson County General Health District, and the Jefferson County Prevention and Recovery Board, the Resource Network has created a website and an app as part of a one-stop hub to help the public navigate the many available resources.

Guest speaker Michelle Corella, executive director of Milton Jefferson, built a strong relationship with the Resource Network before setting up. She said the network proved a valuable source of information about the area’s needs and connected her to referral services and community members to build important local relationships.

“We’re just thrilled to be a part of it. It’s been very welcoming.”

The Resource Network has also put Milton Jefferson in touch with people who need their services.

“It’s been a fantastic relationship thus far,” she said. “I’m hoping to build some new relationships, to be able to provide services for those in the community that need it here, but also for us to build relationships with the different community partners for some clients that we have that need a different level of care that we don’t offer.”

Milton Jefferson community liaison Matt Grimard agreed, adding the recovery center and public are benefitting from the app and mailing list.

“To be able to be listed on the Resource Network website and the app provides people easy access to the information for our agency,” he said. “We’re very grateful to have the opportunity to come in here and share with the community and hopefully bridge some gaps and provide support and help.”

Resource Network Community Service Coordinator Beth Rupert Warren welcomed Milton Jefferson. The Resource Network is hard at work identifying needs and finding and talking to agencies with the skill to meet them.

“They filled a gap of services because we needed a residential treatment facility here. It’s great to see how they’re partnering and fostering relationships with other agencies and people throughout the whole community.”

Currently held in the Wintersville Methodist Church Center of Hope at 702 Main St., the Community Connections gatherings are a venue for representatives from service providers that might not otherwise have met to form working relationships that help the public. Meetings are diverse, featuring speakers on issues including support available to veterans, and adult education.

The meeting featured music from Derik Board, outreach coordinator with the Jefferson County Veterans Service Office and founder of Commemorate through Chords, an initiative where he interviews veterans and composes songs about their testimonies. He performed two songs. Board has previously spoken at the meetings and the Resource Network has been a source of aid serving those who served.

“With the Veterans Service Office I’ve been able to utilize this to find really good connections to find vets that need resources that we provide, and at the same time I’m able to talk about the music side of it with those veterans as well. This has been a great chance to make contacts for sure, and it’s paying off.”

Word is getting out, and December’s Community Connections boasted many first-time attendees who are learning about the resources at their fingertips.

These include Kristy Good, director of crisis services for Northwood Health Systems, which operates in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and helps people with mental health and substance use disorders. She said they treat individuals from Jefferson County, and she is conversing with other service agencies that treat some of the same individuals. She has spoken to Resource Network representatives about the needs in Jefferson County and was interested in the app and website.

“It’s pretty great,” she said. “It was very easy to work through. It was very easy to find resources and I was able to submit to add our information to the website.”

Adam Truex, executive director of the Ohio Mid-Eastern Regional Education Service Agency is another first-time attendee. He heard about the Resource Network at an ESC superintendents meeting and was intrigued by the avenues of outreach. They have recently become part of the Resource Network app to increase their visibility.

Dottie O’Neil, owner of Overflowing Joy Doula Services, has attended Community Connections since the first meeting.

“I absolutely love it,” she said. “I’ve always been a resource person for the moms in the community, and so this was just a natural thing for me.”

She often uses the Resource Network.

“Connecting all of us, you feel less alone,” she said. “I’ve shared the organization’s website with people and the app, too. I keep the app on my phone so if there is something that comes up, I’ll push on that little button and share with people.”

Rupert Warren added that the Resource Network is currently focused on finding shelters for the homeless as well as coordinating with multiple agencies and businesses to compile lists of daytime warming centers. They hope to send out lists through the Community Connections email.

“We’re coming together as a community to support those in need.”