COLUMBUS, Ohio — A fire station in Whitehall may just look like your average fire department.

The station does more than just fight fires. They also used to help community members struggling with substance abuse. 

What You Need To Know

  • The program helps decrease substance abuse-related deaths 

  • Whitehall Division of Fire paramedic Randy Jones has been a paramedic in Whitehall for 24 years and has seen first-hand the difference 24/7 access program 

  • Hundreds of community members were impacted by the S.A.F.E. Station program

 It’s a S.A.F.E. Station, S.A.F.E. stands for Stop Addiction For Everyone. It’s a program that allows anyone to come to the Whitehall fire station at any time and simply ask for help.

“Whitehall had a lot of problems with substance use disorder, overdoses, that kind of thing. We were running on overdoses, an average of I think it was every three days we would have an overdose,” said Whitehall Division of Fire Paramedic Randy Jones. 

Jones has been a paramedic for the Whitehall Division of Fire for 24 years. He experienced first-hand that feeling of helping community members when struggling with substance abuse. 

“It was really cool to get to see some of these faces that I had seen and so many families that were that like I just kept hoping and praying that someday they’re going to choose a different path. Then getting to see that come to fruition was just like, I’m getting chili bumps just thinking about now,” said Jones.

The goal of the program is to decrease substance abuse and substance-related deaths in the area by providing 24/7 access to resources through the fire department without any legal repercussions. The division of fire is not the only entity in Whitehall that’s trying to decrease substance abuse in the community. 

“During COVID, the places like Maryhaven changed their intake policies to make it even more accessible for folks that were looking for treatment. So people didn’t need to come here. They just were able to go directly there,” said Jones. 

The Vice President of Addiction Stabilization Services for Maryhaven Addiction Treatment Center, Matt Grafton, said the 24/7 access to help that’s offered at Maryhaven is key.

“What I appreciate is that 24/7 access allows someone to get in right away. Then during the week, Monday through Friday, on our fourth floor, we offer assessment, outpatient assessments where somebody could come and get a status connected services right away,” said Grafton. 

Although the S.A.F.E. Station is no longer around, the Whitehall Division of Fire still helps individuals with substance abuse and the impact of the program is still felt across the community.