FLORENCE, Ky. — When you walk inside the Brighton Recovery Center, there is a memorial wall dedicated to those who have died from drug overdoses.
"Most of them, we got to know them, their families came and visit, we got to know their children," said Janie Hamilton, director of recovery services at Brighton Recovery Center.
Hamilton and other staff are helping 70 women who are 18 and older fight addiction.
This recovery center in Florence will be their home for six months to two years.
Watch how this recovery center is transforming lives below:
"The hardest part about getting clean is learning to face things that we haven't wanted to face," Hamilton said.
Once the ladies leave the program's safe on the street component, they move to the motivational tracks.
It's a sisterhood where they are cooking, cleaning and recovering together.
"We see an 80 percent success rate, which is really high for that 12 months that they haven't started using drugs and alcohol again," Hamilton said.
On the other side of the river in Hamilton County, the number of overdoses has plunged.
"In 2024 we were able to see overdoses decline to 277 individuals in Hamilton County," said Megan Guthrie, director of the Hamilton County Addiction Response Team.
The Hamilton County Commissioner's Office created its quick response team in 2018. They use a hands-on approach through outreach, education and resources.
"People are much more open to the conversation, which has allowed us to save lives because people are willing to talk about it," said Denise Driehaus, president of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners.
Experts have said resources like the Hamilton County Quick Response Team and the Brighton Recovery Center encourage the community to achieve long-term recovery.
Even if they relapse, they are always welcomed back.
"We remain their home once they walk through the doors and spent some time with us," Hamilton said.
WCPO has listened and researched that addiction is a problem in our community.
You are invited to our community conversation centered around drug addiction and recovery at the Kenton County Public Library Erlanger Branch on April 14.
