Hamilton City Council, which has the ultimate decision on the move, on Wednesday held the first of two required readings of an ordinance that would allow the move, and numerous people attended the meeting to express strong support, speaking of the love they have felt from Dr. Quinton Moss’ operations. Those also include the faith-based inpatient rehabilitation effort called the Genesis Center of Excellence, which will continue operating at the former Roosevelt school.
“This place, it saves lives. It saved mine,” Matthew Hollenbaugh, 36, originally from Middletown and an addict of almost 20 years. “They don’t turn their back on anybody. I had been turned down multiple times by other places.”
“I can see that Hamilton needs this place as much as I do,” he said. “They make you feel welcome every day.”
The Modern Psychiatry outpatient operations have to move because the Roosevelt property was sold and the church that purchased it needs to use that part of the building. In the years the operations have been at Roosevelt, there were no police calls there, city planning staff said.
Joe Carosiello of Butler County said he was addicted to heroin more than 20 years and has been clean since July 5, 2017.
“Because of what this program has done to me, you’re looking at a healthy young man,” Carosiello said. “I was homeless, living underneath a bridge, I’ve been in and out of jail, I’ve been in multiple rehabs. I’ve even been to OSU’s detox center. I can’t tell you how many places I’ve been to, because I just can’t count them.
“They care for us, like nobody else has ever cared for me before. I’ve sat in front of multiple doctors. I’ve sat in front of multiple nurses, I’ve been in multiple places where we’re just another patient — let’s turn ’em, burn ’em, get ’em out, and then I’m overdosed in an alley three days later, after doing three months in a program that didn’t really care for me in the first place.”
The difference with Moss and his staff was they care for him, he said.
“They love me, they believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I got married last year, we have an apartment together, we both have vehicles, we both have really nice jobs, things are going really well in that aspect. But in the aspect of the fact that we have freedom from addiction and we are also spiritually connected to God gave us the ability to be able to live lives and to be productive,” he said.
Two people expressed concern during a recent planning commission about the possible harm to their neighborhood of a move there by the outpatient operations, but nobody spoke against it before council.
Others offered comments. Bobby Johnson, of Butler County, told the council he has been sober nearly a year, thanks to the Genesis program.
“The person I used to be is not the person I know today,” he said. “Without them, I would probably be laying out in Greenwood Cemetery with the rest of our friends that have accidentally overdosed through the heroin, through the different things.” Johnson said, “They are truly, truly changing sons and daughters, and grandchildren’s lives, each and every day. We’re winning this fight against drugs, and it feels good to be a part of it.”
Michaela Little of Hamilton, who works at Modern Psychiatry, said she’s an outpatient program manager there and is a sister, daughter and friend of addicts.
“As an employee, I can tell you we’re all super excited about the new space,” she said. “We’re running out of room, we’ve got people to serve and we need places for therapy, we need more therapy offices … As a community member, I run, I walk my daughter, I spend a lot of time in Hamilton. I’m sick of seeing needles on the street.”
Anthony Gonzales of Butler County said, “About 20 or so months ago, I had a bad overdose on heroin. It left me dead in a car for about an hour, and by the grace of God, I was pulled out of that and given another chance. I was led to Genesis. Something so special about that place. It just really changed my life. The clinical aspect to it, and then the spiritual aspect, the way these guys just love on you and pour into you. It’s like, something I’ve never seen before.”
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