The email arrived October 23, 2023. Like many emails that come through the Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services website, this person needed help.
“I’m currently struggling on my own. I was homeless and now I’m on the verge of being homeless again. My car was just impounded so transportation is hard, and I have to get to classes because I’m fighting to get my daughter back.” Samantha was hurting. She knew she needed help. What she didn’t know was how much things were about to change because she faced her fear and found the courage to hit “send.”
Samantha (Sam) was born to parents who had substance use and mental health concerns. She started smoking marijuana at 13. By age 20, she had moved onto heavier narcotics. She was arrested in 2015 and sent to an in-patient lock down facility. Once released, she went back to using, got into trouble again and was sent back into rehab. The cycle continued over and over.
In early 2019, Sam was sent to prison for the first time for not finishing her rehabilitation program. She was released in 2020 and spent three months in a 6-month half-way house program before bolting, again. Sam ended up in Troy, Ohio where the drug use continued. She was eventually arrested and sent back to prison for violating her parole.
She served three more months then tried to find a job but had difficulty because of her criminal record. She eventually found a job and began a relationship with a man who would move in with her and father her child. The situation soon turned toxic. Her boyfriend had major anger issues in addition to his drug use. Sam ended up homeless and was forced to give up custody once her baby was born in the spring of 2023. She admits it was then that she really hit rock bottom. “I didn’t have anyone to turn to. I was in a bad relationship, homeless off and on, I was tired of using, and my baby was taken away. I was really looking for someone to help.”
"I was really looking for someone to help."
Fast forward to that email last October. What happened after Sam hit “send”? Her information was sent to Jamie Ayer, a former peer support worker who is now a Care Manager for people in Hamilton County who are enrolled in GCBHS Substance use Disorder (SUD) programs. Jamie left a message for Sam, who called her back. “That’s half the battle,” says Jamie. “You want to catch them in that moment of seeking help because if you miss it, more than likely you might never hear back. In this case, she did call back. It’s a great feeling when you can help someone who is ready.”
Jamie took Sam to Open Access (OA) – a process GCBHS uses to assess and connect people to needed services the same day they come in. OA cuts down on staff time from missed appointments and gets clients into treatment quicker. (You can learn more about Open Access and how a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation helped us expand SUD treatment HERE.)
According to Jamie, Sam’s boyfriend was “problematic.” He was physically and mentally abusive and helped get Sam evicted because of his destructive behavior. They were also both actively using. “She was living in her car when I met her", says Jamie. “We had to meet secretively because he didn’t want her to escape the living hell they were surrounded by.” Sam agrees, “He was like an anchor, weighing me down. He didn’t want to let me get anywhere.”
"He was like an anchor, weighing me down. He didn't want to let me get anywhere."
Once Sam removed herself from her volatile relationship, things started to fall into place. She felt relaxed and comfortable and was able to share things with Jamie, not only about her traumatic past but also her aspirations to get custody of her daughter back.
Jamie helped Sam start the process of building her life back. Since that email in October, Sam has an apartment, a car, she’s enrolled in college, and she started her own business. She is grateful for the support she’s received from GCBHS. “I’m so glad I got connected. I just don’t know where I would be
today if it weren’t for my GCBHS team. I was almost to the point… I don’t know what I would have done. They can’t always fix it – but they are there for me and that’s what’s important.”
And that goal of getting her daughter back? It’s getting closer to reality. Sam was recently approved to have overnight visits with her now 18-month-old.
“My baby drives my desire to get better” Sam shares. “She’s the reason I sent that email… and I’m so glad I did.”
