Recovery Connections of Southeast Ohio closes, ending Vinton County support

Vinton County is losing a regional peer-recovery lifeline as Recovery Connections of Southeast Ohio began winding down June 1 and plans to close by June 30 after citing a lack of sustainable funding. Founded in 2021, the peer-run group served Athens, Hocking and Vinton counties, giving people in recovery a place to connect, find accountability and stay linked to support close to home.

That closure removes more than a name from the region’s service map. RCSEO had provided peer support, community outreach, pro-social activities and Drop-In Hours in Nelsonville and Athens. For people in Vinton County, where transportation barriers and stigma can already make treatment harder to sustain, the loss means one fewer low-barrier option for someone in crisis, someone newly sober, or a family member trying to find help before a relapse turns into an overdose or an arrest.

Ohio defines peer support as services delivered by people with direct lived experience of behavioral health challenges, including substance use disorder. To become a certified peer recovery supporter in Ohio, a person must complete approved training or have qualifying work experience, pass background checks, work under supervision and complete continuing education. That model is what made RCSEO distinct: it was built around people who had lived through addiction and recovery themselves, then used that experience to guide others through the same terrain.

The county’s formal recovery network is still anchored by the Athens-Hocking-Vinton Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board at 7990 Dairy Lane in Athens, which lists case management, treatment services, employment support, transportation, life-skill building and housing help among its available supports. The provider map names Hopewell Health Centers, Health Recovery Services and Integrated Services as available providers. But the closure leaves open a hard question for Vinton County residents: who will absorb RCSEO’s clients, who will help with rides, and where will referrals go when the peer-run layer disappears?

The stakes are high in a county and region already carrying a heavy overdose burden. State and local reporting in 2023 said Vinton County had one of the highest overdose rates in Ohio, and five of the seven counties in OneOhio Region 10, which includes Athens, Gallia, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs and Vinton counties, were among the state’s top 20 counties for overdose rates. Ohio recorded 4,452 unintentional drug overdose deaths in 2023, a 9% drop from 2022. The OneOhio Recovery Foundation was created to direct 55% of Ohio’s opioid-settlement dollars to addiction abatement and mental-wellness work, but for Vinton County, the immediate loss is local: a small, informal support system that had helped people hold recovery together.