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Since 1952, Rosary Hall has been at the forward edge of the fight against addiction. When our founder Sister Ignatia Gavin, CSA began this work, much of her focus was on the preeminently abused substance of the day: alcohol.

But today, addiction has morphed into a more sophisticated foe. While alcohol, cocaine and other drugs continue to destroy lives, it’s the opioid and heroin epidemic that’s taking lives in record numbers from families, neighborhoods and communities. What talents are gone forever from the lives that have been lost as a result?

“More than 600 individuals in Cuyahoga County alone lost their battle to heroin in 2016. That’s the kind of pain and suffering that none of us can ignore.”

This opiate epidemic is a community problem that requires a community response. St. Vincent Charity is pleased to support the Opioids: Know the Risks campaign, which is a collaboration between local hospitals, government, law enforcement and media and aimed at prevention. But we also know that far too many people are addicted and in need of treatment now.

1 in 5 households has an adult with active addiction. More than 600 individuals in Cuyahoga County alone lost their battle to heroin in 2016. That’s the kind of pain and suffering that none of us can ignore. We need quality addiction treatment available on demand.

Today, St. Vincent Charity is prepared to increase its treatment services in the following ways:

• Expand outpatient services to include 6-day a week partial hospitalization
• Expand services in our intensive outpatient program
• Provide transportation services for residents of sober living homes to attend PHP/IOP treatment
• In partnership with Cleveland State University and others, establish a Center for Behavioral Health Sciences focused on education, research, workforce development and training, multi-institutional collaboration and informing policy

These immediate steps will allow us to treat 300 more individuals a year. Long term we plan to expand Rosary Hall to include residential and sober living beds, allowing us to treat an additional 900 individuals a year.

While St. Vincent Charity is prepared to lead this effort, we cannot do it alone. We will need the support of the community, providers, government, partner agencies and individuals to end our epidemic.

“Help us help our community to End Our Epidemic.”

We are excited to introduce our new microsite to support the expansion of Rosary Hall—   EndOurEpidemic.com. We encourage you to share this site with friends and family to help us rally together against this formidable foe. There's three ways to get involved:

• Advocate — for legislation, better policies and for the families and those addicted
• Partner — join us in collaborating to make sure we meet the needs for treatment across the continuum
• Donate — support our expansion of Rosary Hall, both in terms of PHP/IOP and capital needs

Be an advocate for St. Vincent Charity by sharing a message of support on your social media channels using the hashtags #ExpandRosaryHall and #EndOurEpidemic. Help us help our community to End Our Epidemic.