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'You can recover and live a full life,' Lucas County officials recognize local addiction-recovery services

The Lucas County Commissioners recognized September as National Recovery Month and highlighted the work of the Zepf Center in helping local residents with addiction.

TOLEDO, Ohio — The Lucas County Board of Commissioners recognized the Zepf Center for the support it gives to people in recovery from addiction during their Tuesday meeting.

Local resident Joseph Muniz shared his journey to break free from addiction at the commissioners' meeting. He credits his recovery to personal dedication and organizations like the Zepf Center. 

"I'm approaching seven years of being sober and sometimes it's still a rocky road," Muniz said. "But I know how to overcome those things today."

During their meeting the commissioners also officially proclaimed September as National Recovery Month in Lucas County. The month has been recognized nationally since 1989.

"I think one thing that's important about the proclamation is to ensure that people know that we are recognizing their journey," said Zepf Center Chief Executive Officer Deb Flores. "That life is not always easy for everyone and sometimes there are bumps in the road but through sobriety through your journey of support and healing you can recover and live a full life."

The number of overdoses began to rapidly increase in recent years, according to Mahjida Steffin, supervisor of overdose prevention with the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department 

"It really jumped," Steffin said.  "We had, I think, 296 in 2020. So that's almost 300 opioid-related overdose deaths, which is really concerning to our county."

The health department reports the numbers are now starting to decrease but there is more work to be done. 

Muniz said it helps to take one day at a time and find a community for support. 

"I have to live in recovery, and I have to do things on a daily basis to maintain that recovery and my life is so much better today," he said.

The Zepf Center and the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department now offer the overdose-reversing drug Narcan for free. And health department officials encourage everyone to be informed on what overdose prevention programs are available in the area.

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