A typical day for our peer supporter, Jed Hopler, can be quite intense. He starts out the day at the center at 8 am, having coffee with our friends at Jordan's Crossing. Many friends are homeless or living in a tent close to the site of the center. Many have mental health challenges and/or substance use disorders.
Jed then helps the volunteers and staff assemble free food packages which also happen to include items donated from Amazon to make life a bit easier. Tents and propane are frequent items.
Jed typically engages peers and friends at the center who, like him, have either overcome their substance use disorder or are motivated toward treatment or harm reduction.
Frequent stops by the Mount Carmel Mobile Clinic address medical concerns like neuropathy and lesions. Visits from Lower Lights Christian Health Center engage peers as well to link with Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT).
Jed also takes time to engage our friends in a pro-social activity like walking club or trash pickup where they are compensated for assisting in cleaning up the site.
Jed also interacts with other service providers like Maryhaven, Ethan's Crossing, and even the Columbus Fire's RREACT team which responds to addiction crises in our metropolitan area.
We are so grateful to have Jed on our team!!!
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