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Brandy Blatt has only been executive director of the Mid Ohio Valley Fellowship Home for a year, but she is already excited about new initiatives to try and ways to think out of the box.
Give Local MOV, she said, could be an immense help in a lot of crucial scenarios.
The substance abuse recovery organization is primarily funded through grants, but there are a number of things grants don't cover. They may be small things for many people, but they're the biggest barrier she's seen for many clients.
Residents getting jobs is one of the essentials for the Mid Ohio Valley Fellowship road to recovery from substance abuse. That involves getting work shoes, maybe clothing. It may involve getting a driver's license, getting a birth certificate. Maybe some co-pays for medication need paid.
"These are tiny details to us," she said. "But to these residents, it can be such a burden. They come in here with nothing, they are panicked."
Part of good client care is to help them hit the ground running, she said.
"Help them so they can help themselves," she added.
That's the first area she sees that can be helped by Give Local MOV funds. The second is leisure time.
"What are they going to do with their free time?" Blatt asked, saying it needs to be something healthy that occupies them. "A resident might rediscover an interest in fishing, for example, and need to purchase a license, maybe a fishing pole."
Depending on the circumstances, it might be something the Fellowship Home needs to help with, to start. The recreation angle is important, she said.
"They have to work, but they have to play, too. That's what a balanced life is about."