A new approach to battling the opioid epidemic
CANONSBURG – The location has been selected and construction is underway. By September, a new concept to help those addicted to drugs should be up and running in Canonsburg, if all goes according to plan.
It is a new face to an ever-growing challenge; how do communities grapple with those who are suffering from the heroin epidemic that has spread to every corner of the country? George DiLeo, the president of Communities Moving Forward, thinks he has a way to offer support.
By teaming up with Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome and ministers of local community churches through the Canonsburg-Houston Ministerium, DiLeo hopes the opening of a coffee shop at 117 W. Pike St. will serve as a beacon for those who need support. With a connection between the Christian gospel and a support center, CMF is hoping to change the way society aids those with addictions.
“The idea of a coffee shop is like a portal to the community for the ministerium, where the churches can connect with the people in the community,” DiLeo said.
Nate Doughty/Observer-Reporter
The coffee shop at 117 W. Pike St., Canonsburg, should open in September.
He believes a better solution to the epidemic, as opposed to tackling the production and sale of the drug, is by offering a space for people to go when coming out of rehabilitation.
Rhome, whose entire borough police force is required to be equipped with Narcan, fully supports the initiative and believes it can help others in the community, as well.
“Communities Moving Forward is not only for addiction,” Rhome said. “What we have found is that there is a lot of lonely people out there, and a lot of lonely people need someone to shake hands with and put their arms around.”
Since its inception three years ago, CMF has moved from the Canonsburg municipal building to a space in the Frank Sarris Public Library. Now, with a permanent location under construction, plans to effectively aid those who need it most can commence.
The idea of the location being a coffee house was selected due to its universal nature as a community gathering place. For the Rev. George L. Livanos, the presiding priest of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church and one of the core clergy involved in the project, the coffee house, or “kafeneio” in Greek culture, plays an integral role in society. He envisions the new one in Canonsburg as having a similar fate.
A community-centric approach, Livanos said, will better help those with addiction and loneliness. He believes it takes everyone to help solve this problem.
“We need to break the stigma of leprosy,” Livanos said. “Illness is addressed with love by the community. It’s not addressed in an office by a physician exclusively. This is a blue-collar and this is a white-collar illness. This covers everybody. That’s why we feel it belongs in the community and the community needs to be that resource center.”
Nate Doughty/Observer-Reporter
From left, George DiLeo, the Rev. George L. Livanos, Mayor David Rhome and James O’Brien hope the coffee shop will become a place of refuge for those with addictions. Ministers will be available to meet with those in need during business hours.
Inside the coffee shop, which has not yet been named, CMF plans to offer messages of faith on flat-screens as well as drug and health information from the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission. Ministers of all denominations are planning to be available during operating hours.
“The most effective way is people getting ministered to,” James O’Brien, president of Canonsburg-Houston Ministerium, said. He added that word-of-mouth and informational brochures at AA meetings will spread awareness of the coffee shop’s mission and cause.
Currently, CMF is operating on donations, and recently received a $10,000 check from First United Presbyterian Church of Houston to help jump-start the construction. To keep the business operating, proceeds from coffee sales will go directly back into the shop, and any additional funds will benefit future CMF initiatives.
Rhome is optimistic about plans for the ministry and it’s positive effect on the community, but is calling on those in the borough and throughout the region to continue to support those who are battling addiction.
“The most important part that we want to say to the public out there (is) without your involvement, no one could ever succeed in what we are trying to do to bring our community back together,” Rhome said.
CMF can be reached by phone at 724-689-8219 or by email at info@communitiesmovingforward.com.