LISBON, Ohio – Glen and Jaime McMillin know what it’s like to struggle with addiction and that knowledge helps them help others facing mental health issues.
The couple is part of the Columbiana County Mobile Crisis Response Team through On Demand Counseling in Austintown and the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.
“I had to hit a complete bankruptcy, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, judicially,” Glen McMillin says of his own recovery. “I had to bounce off rock bottom before I finally went and saw help. And it was a person with a lived experience that I made my initial connection with.”
Lori Colian, director of treatment and supportive services with the MHRS, says the Mobile Crisis Response Team formed through discussions with law enforcement officers in the county, who realized that arresting people wasn’t going to solve the problems they encountered with people dealing with mental health issues.
By using trained crisis responders like the McMillins who have struggled in the past with addiction, the MCRT supports law enforcement, local hospitals and others by building relationships with those going through mental health crises, including people struggling with substance abuse.
Glen McMillin notes he was no saint before he got clean eight years ago.
With six prior felonies across several states, he thought his prior encounters with law enforcement and the judicial system would create a lot of push back.
But Colian says once law enforcement and hospitals became educated about the program, they bought in. The MCRT team of three full-time and two part-time peer counselors average 80 to 100 contacts a month and since 2022 have helped over 2,000 individuals.
The MCRT team rides with law enforcement and has privileges at the hospitals. Nearly 60 people attended a recent Crisis Response Team collaboration event.
Law enforcement and the hospitals now refer people to the MCRT. They have offices at both East Liverpool and Salem hospitals and meet people at the East Palestine Resiliency Center.
Glen McMillin says he is a huge proponent of training with peer support team members taught to help deescalate many situations and administer Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses.
During Operation Bridge events, they go out into the community to meet people, bring them food and inform them that help is available.
When the person is ready, the MCRT, which Glen McMillin supervises, have contacts with treatment rehabilitation centers, and know what to do to get someone direct access to care rather than an appointment months later. And they can provide transportation if needed and walk them through the door.
“We quickly learned that a person can’t be in crises and then have a counseling appointment a month later,” he says. “That’s not going to work.”
However, sometimes it takes weeks or months for the person to reach out.
“I can’t tell you how many times we’ll initially, plant that seed and maybe we’ll see them two or three more times, but when they hit rock bottom, they’ll know who to call and then we get them into treatment, connect them or reconnect them, whatever it is,” says Jaime McMillin.
Sometimes they work through the courts, helping those with drug charges find treatment.
The program is funded through grants and Medicaid when applicable. Colian says she hopes to find additional resources to keep it sustainable.
Ultimately, Colian says helping people stay sober saves the state and taxpayers money and limits medical charges for people going into the emergency room. It also means less interaction with law enforcement and fewer people incarcerated.
“For me personally, it’s also helped Jaime and I both,” Glen McMillin says, adding it helps everyone on the team to find a purpose and a job they really love. “It’s also helped us grow in our personal journeys.”
Before they were married, Jaime’s father asked Glen to reach out to his daughter. Jaime was struggling with alcoholism even after her brother died of alcohol-related liver cirrhosis. Although she admits to being angry at her father for it, Jaime agreed to meet McMillin.
For the first time, she says she felt she could be honest and not be judged for it. She was able to recover, get a liver transplant in 2019 and she is giving back by being a peer supporter.
“I feel like that’s a huge part of peer support,” says Jaime. “Being able to be honest about what you’re struggling with because you’re not the only one.”
Pictured at top: Lori Colian, director of treatment and supportive services with the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.