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ASHLAND Pathways celebrated its expansion and outreach in the region with a ribbon cutting and open house at its new location on 25th Street Thursday evening.
Ashland Alliance’s Scott Martin kicked off the occasion, telling attendees Pathways will service 40,000 individuals this year alone.
The 25th Street location is an extension of the widely-recognized community-based center, which planted its roots locally 57 years ago.
The new clinic is Pathways’ primary outpatient substance use and dual diagnosis hub, servicing individuals who endure substance abuse and mental health diagnoses.
Services will include individual counseling — crafted specifically for a person’s individual treatment plan — peer support services, targeted case management, group counseling, intensive outpatient programs, sobriety treatment and recovery programs, DUI assessments and treatment, medication management, etc.
Pathways CEO Jennifer Willis said the majority of people undergoing substance abuse treatment have a coinciding mental health diagnosis, and treating both makes long-term recovery a possibility for many.
Willis added Pathways’ 25th Street services are designed for anyone who needs a hand up, whether by referral or walk-in.
Recently, Willis said Pathways has become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, implementing crisis care and physical health care in addition to mental health and substance abuse treatments.
Since adding the additional services, Willis said Pathways has added 150 employees in the past 18 months, allotting for a holistic care model to make an impact in an even bigger way.
Amber Belcher-Yates, a customer service manager at Pathways, led small groups on a tour of the facility which included intake rooms, TeleHealth offices, peer support and outreach spaces, drug screening rooms and space for group and one-on-one therapy sessions.
Belcher-Yates said the clinic will serve veterans and all age groups.
She said the amount of people who can be reached through this new location is a “blessing.”
Chief Business Development Officer Ronnie Nunley, an employee of Pathways for more than 30 years, gave a testimony of the lives she’s seen touched over the years as Pathways has expanded.
Nunley recalled the first baby born drug-free after Pathways began providing mothers with treatment opportunities and told of a man’s epiphany during a peer-to-peer session that finally broke his chains to addiction, believing the new clinic would provide the same breakthroughs and impact even more lives.
While the opening of the new location marked a time of praise and celebration, the ceremony fell on National Overdose Awareness Day, shedding light on the importance of accessible treatment and intervention.
Tianna Keeton, now an employee with Pathways, shared her story of becoming a widow.
Keeton said she slowly watched her husband and best friend relapse and turn into a version of someone she didn’t recognize before his death in May 2017.
Keeton shared Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,” telling crowd members in the midst of chaos and turmoil, she was able to transform her story into hope to help others as her career.
Before a moment of silence and balloon release, attendees were asked to raise their hands if they knew at least one person who was lost to a drug overdose, causing every hand in the silent crowd to raise.
Emily Aust, with Journey House and A Mother’s Journey, continued, requesting the audience to keep their hands up if they knew two, three or four or more people who succumbed to their addiction and nearly every hand remained up.
Lastly, Aust asked the crowd if they themselves had been revived from a drug overdose. Tears welled and stained cheeks as several more raised their hands — some of the hands belonging to now employees and peer support specialists of Pathways.
The crowd was directed to a table of free Narcan distribution, which was credited with saving hundreds of lives.
Attendees were then invited to write down a name of a loved one or friend lost to overdose, which was later read aloud as purple balloons were released in their memory.
The display showed that the path of addiction combined with mental health neglect is a deadly one and affects several throughout our hills, affirming places like Pathways are right where they need to be.
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