Seymour recently hired two local residents to build and lead a new substance use recovery program to serve the city and all of Jackson County.
Steve Sharer of Seymour will be the program coordinator and Kimberly Glaze of Freetown will be the director of program development for the initiative. Both are part-time positions, according to a news release from the city issued Tuesday.
The main goals of the new program will be to identify and fill gaps when it comes to substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services in Jackson County.
Sharer has a background in civil engineering and social work. He has spent most of his career working as a project manager and consultant in the construction field but also spent years working in counseling for the Tabor Center and Immanuel Lutheran Church.
“I am excited to be a part of this program and look forward to helping people in our community better access recovery resources as the program develops and evolves,” Sharer said. “We hope to engage the whole community in this effort.”
Glaze has degrees in criminal justice and criminology and has experience in the substance abuse recovery field, having worked as a regional coordinator for United Against Opioids through AmeriCorps, as a recovery coach for Centerstone and a prevention and outreach coordinator for Foundations Family Medicine in Austin.
“When I first heard of this opportunity, I was thrilled that Seymour and Jackson County were going to finally have a program that is dedicated to helping with this issue,” Glaze said. “It is my hope that this program can accomplish bringing all the treatment, intervention and recovery resources together. No more silos and no more waiting. When someone needs help, they will find it here.”
The Seymour and Jackson County Recovery Program is being modeled after the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County and is being funded through a $100,000 grant from the Family and Social Services Administration of Indiana. ASAP is serving as a resource and consultant to help get a program started here.
Mayor Matt Nicholson said he is looking forward to the impact Sharer and Glaze will make.
“I am excited to see them get started and see how they can affect the future of our community in positive ways,” he said.
Sharer and Glaze have offices in Seymour City Hall. They may be reached by calling 812-522-4020 or by email at [email protected] and [email protected].