The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, an organization formed to provide prevention and recovery services to people affected by the opioid crisis in Bartholomew County, hopes to have its hub ready to open by the second quarter of 2019.
A newly created ASAP Inc. board of directors met for the first time Friday at Columbus City Hall to take care of housekeeping items including electing officers and approval of bylaws, but also to hear an update from ASAP executive lead Jeff Jones on next steps.
Board members approved appointing Jones as ASAP’s acting executive director, although he will continue as a volunteer and not receive a salary.
In this role, Jones will begin the process of setting up the hub, a physical location where people seeking treatment will find referrals and assistance in recovering from addiction.
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The hub is a crucial component to the strategy of addressing substance abuse locally, Jones said. The hub will provide resources needed to recover from substance abuse, including referrals to already existing programming, help with navigating the health care and insurance systems and resources for connecting to community services, down to the basics of obtaining food, housing and transportation.
With the help of an advisory subcommittee of the board, and board members, Jones said he will also be focusing on hiring an executive director to replace him and also a manager of the hub, he said.
Both of those positions will be paid positions, part of the administrative structure of ASAP moving forward, he said.
The hub will be located at the former United Way office in the Doug Otto Center, 1531 13th St., Columbus. The space opened up as the United Way headquarters moved across the street.
Officers named
United Way President Mark Stewart was elected president of the board on Friday, with board member Bartholomew Circuit Judge Kelly Benjamin listed as vice president. Board member Rita Wilder was elected secretary-treasurer.
During the meeting, Jones said he will be working to maintain the organizational approach ASAP has taken for the past year and a half, which involves leading a large team of individuals in volunteer roles, many of whom have full-time jobs in addition to assisting in the ASAP effort.
Jones told board members he also plans on helping compete existing ASAP projects in the works and beginning new ones, while remembering that the prevention component is equally important to the recovery aspect of the ASAP plan.
Another focus will be taking ASAP to a new level of higher collaboration, working with churches, law enforcement, first responders, social services and media, Jones said.
Opening date
He mentioned May 1 as a possible date for the hub to open, describing it as a game-changer for the community.
“Over our next few months, we’ve got to make sure, with a great concept and great design, that we implement this (the hub) in a way that the recovery community feels that it’s for them and not for us,” Jones said. “That’s when ASAP will start to make a difference.”
Other administrative items that need to be taken care of, in addition to hiring employees, will be selecting an administrative partner to handle human resources, insurance, payroll and other duties required with an organization with paid employees.
ASAP is also in the process of applying for tax-exempt status to allow the organization to be a 501(c)3 organization.
Mary Ferdon, Columbus executive director of administration and community development, said the paperwork has been started for the application, which will allow ASAP to receive contributions from businesses and individuals. It will also allow the organization to apply for grants as a nonprofit.
Jones received approval to create a subcommittee of the board as an advisory committee to the executive director, who will be joined by members of the ASAP team. Committee appointees are board members Benjamin and Pastor David C. Bosley, who will serve with Ferdon and Columbus Regional Health’s Julie Abedian and Beth Morris.
The board is planning to meet in January and possibly in February before settling into a quarterly meeting schedule for the year, Benjamin said.
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The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County was launched in April 2017 to develop a community-wide response to the opioid crisis.
The ASAP leadership team was established and Jeff Jones, a retired Cummins, Inc. executive, volunteered as ASAP executive lead. A group of local health care and criminal justice system executives agreed to a two-year commitment to lead action teams to identify the gaps in the substance abuse treatment system and to prioritize and implement solutions.
In October 2017, ASAP announced its strategy to address opioid addiction and substance abuse based on prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery.
To learn more, visit asapbc.org.
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