The Keri Croft Show
The Keri Croft Show
Oyauma Garrison on the Fight Against Addiction at Maryhaven, Mental Health Crises, and Homelessness
From the moment Oyauma Garrison walked into the studio—I knew this conversation was going to be so goddamn special. As the CEO of Maryhaven—a premier nonprofit rehabilitation center in Central Ohio—Oyauma carries a story that’s deeply personal and incredibly powerful.
We talked about everything: growing up in Baltimore during the crack epidemic, the mentors who helped shape his path, and how he’s now using his platform to lead the charge on some of the biggest mental health and addiction issues facing our communities today—right here in Central Ohio.
We get into:
→ The alarming rise in fentanyl and xylazine overdose deaths
→ Why women are drinking more post-pandemic
→ The hidden homelessness crisis in America
→ How Maryhaven’s programs are changing lives of people impacted by addiction and mental illness
I can’t think of a more meaningful way to honor #mentalhealthawarenessmonth than with this conversation. Oyauma you are the true definition of a TOTAL BADASS. I'm so grateful for this time together. If you’ve ever wondered how to make a difference or just want to hear from someone who walks the talk—this is it.
🧠 Need support? Maryhaven’s resources are here: https://maryhaven.com
🙌 Want to get involved? Donate or volunteer: https://maryhaven.com/give-hope/
This one’s going to stay with me for a while.
I hope it does for you too.
#MentalHealthAwareness #AddictionRecovery #HomelessnessSupport #Maryhaven #OyaumaGarrison #FentanylCrisis #WomensMentalHealth #BehavioralHealth #Leadership #KeriCroftShow
Hey there you beautiful badass. Welcome to the Keri Croft Show. I'm your host, keri Croft, delivering you stories that get you pumped up and feeling like the unstoppable savage that you are. So grab your coffee, put on your game face and let's do this thing. Baby Ready to elevate your self-care game?
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Speaker 1:happening All of a sudden. I'm nervous. I'm like why are you fucking nervous? I'm a knucklehead, you're a knucklehead. Let's just like have a chat, right. I love it so anyway, we are here to have fun, to get to know, each other. Let's do it and the fact that there are cameras here. That's just all secondary. Awesome, handsome I don't even know what just walked in in a suit. Welcome to the Keri Croft Show.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, thank you, thank you for having me. I'm excited about this. I'm pumped.
Speaker 1:I like your energy.
Speaker 2:Oh hey, same I'm feeling it.
Speaker 1:I'm feeling something happening here.
Speaker 2:It's the whole aura thing right. There is an aura Right. And then you see, of Tupac, and I was like you've got to be kidding me. So I am born and raised in Baltimore, maryland, and so my cousin actually went to school with Tupac. He was a few years ahead of me, and so at Dunbar High School, paul Alonso, dunbar Community High School you've got to say it that way right, the Ohio State University and then he also went to the Baltimore City School for Performing Arts, and so one of my cousins was actually good friends with him way back in the day and also knew Jada Pinkett for a period in time. So yeah, it's wild, I love that it's wild.
Speaker 1:So you would pick Tupac over Biggie.
Speaker 2:then if I made you pick one, you know the lyrical genius that comes from a man like Tupac and his life's experience and what he was trying to educate people on. You know, no matter what your position is, I mean, the man was gifted, absolutely gifted. Now Biggie different dynamic right. I view that more as a club vibe and scene. Whereas Tupac was a poet, he was a prophet in my mind Touche, touche, he's my man.
Speaker 1:Like right now in my head. I'm like, still, I see no changes. All I see is racist faces. Wake up in the morning and I ask him it's right? It's like you know, like he was on the grind.
Speaker 2:Could you imagine Tupac alive today in this current?
Speaker 1:climate. Well, yes, and I wish he was alive. I still miss him. Can I tell you this how many photos I have of Tupac in my house?
Speaker 2:How many?
Speaker 1:Probably four or five, like more than my children. Wow, wow. I'm a different breed. I love it. You know what I'm saying. So, oyama, before we get swept away in each other's energy, you are the CEO of Mary Haven. Yes, you're a big old CEO, huh.
Speaker 2:You know it is a gift and it is certainly a humbling opportunity to be able to serve in such a capacity, because the reality is, when we think about substance use disorder and mental health, most people don't want to talk about it. And so the ability to serve for an organization that has had a legacy, now standing for 72 years in this community doing, I like to say, god's work Right, this is an opportunity to reach out and help people get their lives back on track. Well, guess what? Most people don't want to talk about it. Back in the day, that cousin would have stayed in the back room, that family member would have never had anyone talking about them and likely would have never pursued help. So the ability for me, a corporate guy, to come into the nonprofit space and to be invited into the nonprofit space, to be able to use the platform and to articulate what it means to release and free yourself and go and get help, absolutely the title is the title. It's the work that matters more.
Speaker 1:Amen. Did somebody transport me to church? What I mean? Where am I? I just got, I don't even know. I'm like swept up in this man. I am swept up in you and I think that you know. You look at your background, right. You came from poverty. You didn't't have anything, and so you, having that background, yeah, oh my gosh, you brought it very, you were gonna talk about this. So this is the last food stamp very that you had when you were how old?
Speaker 2:so that was 1987. So gosh, I would have been, I feel like about 13 ish now, did you bring that for this?
Speaker 1:Did you always keep that with you, or did you bring that?
Speaker 2:So I brought it today just because, for me, when I go out and I talk on various topics and knowing that we would likely have a conversation around my upbringing, I like to remind people just because, as you asked a question earlier about being the CEO, just because you see people in their current setting, it doesn't always mean you know their story and you don't know their backdrop right. And so for me, I came from nothing. I came from needing a handout to being in a position where I can help other people. You know, I like to say it's like that moment in Hamilton when they talk about being in the room where it happens. So I've gone from being on the outside, not ever knowing anything about that room, to now being in that room, to now being in that room and how much better does that make you being in the room it keeps me?
Speaker 2:grounded. It helps me understand how I can better help people, yeah, and it helps me stay connected and to the same accord. I understand the struggle, so for me, absolutely, so I had to bring it. Yeah, I love that so.
Speaker 1:So take me back a little bit when you were growing up like that and you were on food stamps and you didn't have a pot to piss in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I come from a single parent household, right? So I want to be very clear that's not every African-American male story, but I did come from a single family household. My mother graduated Well, I shouldn't say that my mother had her first kid, my oldest daughter, my oldest sister, when she was 16. And so she had to drop out of high school, eventually went back, got her GED and then had me at 20, and then decided that she needed to keep doing that one thing that no one could take away from her, but also instilling her kids, and that was education. So she went back and she got her bachelor's degree, she got two master's degrees, including an MBA, and she was a few credits away from a PhD, but she was raising two knucklehead kids. So she showed us a path. And you know, almost intentionally, when you think about going back.
Speaker 2:I grew up in Baltimore in the height of the crack epidemic, the height of poverty, the height of just joblessness for some people. I mean, the city was thriving in certain areas, but in others it was not, and it was so easy, so easy for a young man like me to fall victim, to fall susceptible to what was happening at the times. But I had five people, five people that I owe my life to, five people. That is my mother, who kept me away from things and kept me out of things. Who kept me away from things and kept me out of things. My uncle, alfonso Stith, who served as my surrogate father even as he was coming up as a young man, but he knew that he needed to make certain that his nieces and nephews had a positive figure and he worked his ass off and he showed us what it meant to be a man.
Speaker 2:And then my cousins, two of them one who is here and one who has passed. And my oldest cousin, johnny Stiff, who, he will tell you, he felt susceptible to the life, but the one thing he saw in me he said you have a brain and I will never, ever allow you to get involved in any of this. And if I hear anybody even try to pull you in, they're going to answer to me. And the same thing went with my cousin Carlinzo. And the fifth person actually was myself. And the only reason I say that? Because if I didn't have enough belief and didn't have enough grounding and foundation, I still could have taken all those paths, and this guy you see sitting here today, wouldn't be here, could be locked up, could be dead, who knows? Because I lost a lot of friends along the way.
Speaker 1:You know, I love that. You said myself and I want to give you a little clap for that. You know that thing. Like I want to thank me, but people don't do that enough because we're not supposed to. It sounds like oh, you can't, you're arrogant or you're this I. I feel like there is such um a lack like everyone's so self-deprecating. You're the only person in the world that you can't get away from, so like you need to be giving yourself some accolades and holding yourself accountable and thanking yourself when you deserve it. So I love that you said yourself.
Speaker 2:You got to take some level of ownership. I think we pass it off too much and it's okay to say you know what I did, that you know, I saw it, I seized it, I understood it and it's okay. You do it without arrogance is the best way to describe it. Do you remember going to the grocery store and using food stamps? I do, and in fact my mom would send my sister and I down there and we'd have the book and if you didn't have the book you couldn't buy anything with the five and tens. You could only buy things without the book, with the one.
Speaker 1:Were you so used to it or were you ashamed? Or did you know where you're like? Okay, we're different, like we're using food stamps.
Speaker 2:So, depending on who was in the store, for the most part I was a little bit indifferent to it because I was young and a kid and it was kind of all I really knew. But then, yeah, that was actually other people who would tease us or tease others because they were using food stamps. And then it was later on I realized, well, some of them were using it too. So it was kind of like, why are you teasing me if you're using it? But it was that sort of that mentality at the time.
Speaker 2:But you know, later on I will tell you, as I navigated through middle school and high school, I was a bit more ashamed of it because I didn't want people to think that I didn't have anything because my mom worked hard and she did everything she could to provide something for us. I mean, I've got countless stories. I mean stories where I mean I barely had good quality tennis shoes to put on my feet because mom had to pay the bills, and it was either pay the bills or try to put shoes on Oyama's feet, and so I would wear tatted up shoes and get teased. And so I would wear tatted up shoes and get teased. But you know what, here I sit today, and so, yeah, I mean it was a bit of shame, but today I don't mind talking about it. And it wasn't simply because I moved up in corporate America. I started having this conversation when I was in college to help stay grounded. So, yeah, what?
Speaker 1:did, your mom do.
Speaker 2:So my mom was a financial aid assistant director over at Morgan State University and at Coppin State, then it was College, now University. Okay, because you had talked about carpal tunnel about her getting like.
Speaker 2:Oh, that was such a change. That was a game changer in her life and ours. Because she, if you think about it, back then they measured you based on how many words you could type a minute, how fast, and I mean like all of that stuff, and there wasn't a lot of support around these new things and dynamics that were kind of coming about, and carpal tunnel syndrome was one of them, and eventually her hands got locked up to the point where she could hardly use them. And eventually her hands got locked up to the point where she could hardly use them. And imagine being a single woman at that time and you can't use your hands. Who's hiring you? What workers comp are you getting? How do you support your family at that point? So it became challenging and she worked through a lot of that, along with pain that came in as a result of it. So you know, kudos to her. She's now. She passed. Last year it was a tough time. 2024 was a tough time.
Speaker 1:That reminds me of another Tupac song. Dear Mama, you are appreciated.
Speaker 2:She laid a foundation of service for me, that and my sister that we are forever indebted on. She would give food from her own pantry to people, give clothes that she knew others would need. She would provide free tax services to folk because she was a CPA so she could do that. She did all these wonderful things to just help out other individuals and their families. How can you not get that in your heart and try to carry that on?
Speaker 1:And now here you are today with this type of background, all the empathy and understanding. You have such a great lens to be doing what you're doing. So you have the corporate America background. You came up with nothing. I started from the bottom. Now we're here.
Speaker 2:I just keep going back to the hip hop I can't stop.
Speaker 1:It's like a, it's like a thing, and so you know. Do you feel like you could not be in a more perfect position right now to to serve people in such a great capacity?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's, there's. There are moments in life we're all going to have them, and so for me, sometimes you're moving through life and you may forget, and then there's a moment that happens that recalls it. For me, the reason I sit here in this seat today, on the nonprofit side, and in particular at Mary Haven, I will say it's twofold, and in particular at Mary Haven, I will say it's twofold One prior to even really looking into the work at Mary Haven, after I received the call about the opportunity, I never even really thought too much about my life's experience on my father's side. So by the time I got to know my father, which was much later in life, I'd come to learn so much about the addiction that he struggled with.
Speaker 2:But as a kid I did have some generalized interactions and in those interactions, when he would pick me up and we would go to places sometimes it was the AA meeting, but I didn't know what it was. I knew the AA prayer and I thought that was the Lord's prayer. Right, but I cause, that was what I was exposed to. And so his addiction around alcoholism and substance use primarily was the result of his service and getting injured, and it I mean it ravished his life. You know, I really didn't truly get to know the man until the final years, but by that point it was too late. His body, his internals, had already been so beat up from alcohol and drugs that in my freshman year of college that May he passed away. So I had to go back and bury my dad, even though he was sober.
Speaker 1:Was he so remorseful, did he have talks with you about just wishing he could get that time back?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I mean, he was so incredibly proud of me I mean on his deathbed, which I can still envision going over to my grandmother's house and standing by his bed and I told him. I said, dad, I want you to know your son is doing great in college. Here's where I'm at, here's my GPA, here's what I'm involved in. And I saw the tear come down his eye because he couldn't speak at this point. And so I saw that and, as a young man, that just energized me while at the same time continued to just ground me in the future. And so I share that story freely today.
Speaker 2:But if you would have asked me this 10 years ago, I probably would not have shared as much of it because of stigmas, because of thoughts around it and then, candidly, just not really linking it back to who I am and what I'm trying to do in my life's journey. Martin Luther King said it best we are not here for self, we're here to help other people. No one cares about the 80 hours you put in, no one cares about the millions you made. They want to talk about the impact you made on other people's lives. That's the living legacy and story. And so, for me, that's what I'm aspiring to do.
Speaker 2:And then the other catalyst you know I'm not going to go into great detail on today because then we'll all be in here crying, but the other catalyst was my daughter, my oldest daughter, and what happened to her in 2016, when she lost her life in Nationwide Children's Hospital, which I'm so forever indebted to them was able to get her back. But that moment was a reflective moment again on what's most valuable, what are we really trying to achieve and do in this life's journey? And I got to tell you both of those things leading into the nonprofit sector, knowing that I can make so much more in the for-profit sector, but here, every day, kerry, I wake up and I know I'm doing some good, every single day. You can't pay me enough, because I know that I am impacting someone else's life in a positive way by just simply helping to move the strategy forward, move the organization forward, clear hurdles and paths for people who want to live their passion and their legacy, and that is to just do some more good.
Speaker 1:So let's talk, mary Haven. I mean, I know there's an opioid epidemic, I know fentanyl like the world's turnt.
Speaker 2:It's crazy.
Speaker 1:What are we seeing there? What's happening? Give me the current sort of dynamics and state of the environment.
Speaker 2:So when we think about addiction, we tend to think the illicit drugs, um, and then certainly the fake pills and everything that's out there. The biggest challenge with fentanyl is knowing that at one point it was created for true medical reasons and still is prescribed for true medical uses and reasons. But the synthetic forms of it, the illegal and illicit forms of it, it's undetectable. It's odorless, it's colorless, its potency is so intense that the pen tip or the pencil head tip is all you need for most people to eventually experience what could lead to an overdose versus massive quantities of other types of illicit drugs. Well, you would think it would stop there, but it doesn't. So we now have people who break into veterinary clinics and other types of places to try to find xylosing, which is an animal tranquilizer which is almost a thousand times more potent than fentanyl, and when they use it and they mix it and inject it into their system, it creates necrosis at the site of the injection, which means eventually that part will start to blacken, darken and or could eventually just completely decay and could lead to death. Why are people doing this? Part of it is they're battling mental health challenges and they use substances like fentanyl and other types of opioids or marijuana and for some right, not everyone they use these things to mask the mental health issues that they're facing. And the same thing with alcohol and what we find and what we know, because outside of the hospitals in central Ohio there's only one other place anyone can go to if they are in massive alcohol withdrawal, and that is Mary Haven. Because it's deadly.
Speaker 2:To go through detox for alcoholism is deadlier than going through detox for substances otherwise, and we raised our hand to do it and we do it incredibly well. Why is that important? We've seen a rise. We've seen a rise in alcoholism since the pandemic, with one among all groups, but you know, the rise has been most significant with women. We're seeing crack cocaine, cocaine and cocaine making a comeback and our clients are telling us the primary reason is cheaper, in addition to heroin, but it's cheaper. These are the things that we're seeing. So fentanyl gets mixed into these pills. Fentanyl gets mixed into all kinds of substances. It's sort of like the supplier it's killing their demand. So are we grateful for things like Narcan? Absolutely we are, because we know it's helping to save lives. But there's another side. There's a dark side to Narcan too. As much as it is saving lives. It's empowering a small percentage of them to try to get to the next level of their high because they know Narcan is nearby.
Speaker 1:So it can like X out what they're doing.
Speaker 2:It can, but it's all dependent. They're taking a real serious gamble and risk. They're taking a real serious gamble and risk.
Speaker 2:And so when we think about substance use and mental health, even at Mary Haven, you know, most people know us for alcoholism, illicit drug detoxification, co-sort of dual diagnosed with mental health. But we also do gambling and gaming, and so people who are addicted to just playing online racing games and all the other kinds of things well, gambling, do you know? Since online sports betting has gone in, our call volume has quadrupled. We have people now coming in more for residential treatment because they have to completely detach themselves from their realities and their worlds. We've had people lose six figures, and these are not what most people this is not the typical person you might think of that goes to Vegas. No, these are type A personality business leaders. These are unassuming individuals and, yes, it's even students who are losing it all. And the highest rate of suicide for any level of mental health and substance use is guess which one Gambling.
Speaker 1:Well, because if you lose that type of money, you kind of feel like you're. Is that why? Because, like, oh my God, I just lost my whole savings and you go into like a yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:It is all of the above and it's also the shame and the stigma and everything that is associated with it. If you can imagine having to walk back in and tell your family you just lost a house, or you just lost a job, or everybody's got to get out of here because that bookie is now coming for you, I mean, all of these dynamics are real. This is not fake, this is not a movie, this is not a syndicated show. This is reality. Our counselors at Mary Haven, we've been doing this. We were the first in the state and we've been doing it since 2009. We're nationally recognized for the work that we do around gambling treatment and recovery and prevention because we do a lot of education around it. But once you make the tools more accessible and easy, my gosh.
Speaker 1:So the whole mental health component. I mean you guys have really talented counselors and like, what would you say about you know what comes first a chicken or the egg? And I know it's different for you know it's different for different people. But it's like, well, am I mentally unwell and that's why I'm using drugs, or I'm using drugs and it's making me mentally unwell. It's like this whole Rubik's cube to try to figure out. But you guys are like doing such a great job of trying to help people parse out like the how to become mentally well.
Speaker 2:That's a great question and I will tell you it's so unique for every individual. You could be so mentally stable and go to a party and did not know that someone put something in your drink or put something in that cigarette or put something in that pill and the next thing you know, your world has radically changed. You may not know that when you went to that party and you picked up that beer or that spirit in that glass and you took that sip, you may not have understood, because maybe no one told you that in your lineage there was alcoholism and therefore you were predispositioned genetically where all it could take is that very first sip and now you're addicted. So these things are prevalent. You may not know that you were already born with some level of a mental health issue and or put in an environment and or the result of some trauma. Now here you are battling it.
Speaker 2:Imagine being a teenage, young lady who gets raped. She's going to wrestle with that. Her life could have been great up until that moment. And for some of them, what do they do? They start to turn to other things to try to calm the noise in their head. So there is no one answer.
Speaker 2:It's the chicken and the egg in some respects and trying to figure out how do you get to that? Because the most important thing that our counselors do is try to get to where's the catalyst, because if you don't get to that, you will eventually repeat it. So how do we identify it, how do we recognize it? And now, how do we work through it and start getting your life back on track?
Speaker 2:I mean, we've had a number of incredible stories of people who have come through, who hit rock bottom and then years later come back and say, well, I hit rock bottom again. Well, did they hit their real rock bottom? Because relapse is real. On average, it takes people seven times before they kick the habits, seven times. Our counselors are gifted, we're gifted, grateful to be able to provide the services since 1953, starting with women who in the 50s, the 40s and 50s a radical notion the nuns said we need a place where women who were battling alcoholism could go and get care, because the community said that's not an issue. Oh heck, yeah, it was. And it grew and grew. And so here we are today.
Speaker 1:And I bet the demographic in there. You know cause you'd like to think you want to like, push, like. Oh, it's not, I'm not that like, that's for other people, that's for like a different population. I guarantee there's women just like me in there.
Speaker 2:That's it.
Speaker 1:Men just like you and I mean that's we, absolutely. We want to kind of create a narrative in our mind of you know that we're not, we're protected or something. Stress and inflammation take a toll on your body and your wellness. Relax, restore and rejuvenate at Panacea Luxury Spa Boutique. Book any service of $100 or more and enjoy two hours in our luxury amenities. Unwind in our Himalayan salt saunas, recharge in our wet retreat space with a eucalyptus steam room, hot hydrotherapy pool and cold plunge, then drift into deep relaxation with our hanging loungers. What's your Panacea? We'll help you find it.
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Speaker 2:You know there used to be this saying six degrees of separation. I emphatically go out and say that does not exist when it comes to mental health and substance use. I tell you it's probably less than two. And if you don't know the person in your family, then it just means you don't know. But I'm going to tell you there's probably someone either it's your immediate or extended family that is dealing with one of these two value propositions Neighbors, coworkers. I've talked to people who told me I was a functioning alcoholic at work. No one knew it. I knew exactly how to hide it and where to hide it and what to drink so you couldn't smell it.
Speaker 1:Imagine that which I don't this whole not being able to smell it like even like vodka. You can smell that shit, don't you?
Speaker 2:think, oh, it depends. It depends. There are some people who are really gifted and knowing how to cover some things up, maybe I got a little like a good sniffer on me.
Speaker 1:I'm like I don't know about that. I smell a little something, something yeah, I mean for.
Speaker 2:I mean for some. That is true, some of that's true. But you also got to think about the times too. Back in the 60s, 70s and 80s, it was acceptable to have a drink when you would go out at work. The 90s not so much, and certainly not now if you're during the work hours. So they started to find ways. You may smell it if it's pure vodka, but what if they watered it down? True, and most of them know how to navigate tequilas and vodkas and other kinds of things to water it down to the point you don't smell it. That's true.
Speaker 1:Now, what about you personally? Did you ever struggle with any kind of addiction?
Speaker 2:Most people know me, as my addiction is running.
Speaker 1:So I was going to get to that. You really like you've got, you've clocked a lot of miles, A lot of miles.
Speaker 2:But I will say personally no, I do not have an addiction, but I empathize and sympathize because of what my father went through and what I've seen some other family members and friends go through, but I am not addicted. But my addiction is running.
Speaker 1:But are you a hard stop Like, will you have a drink?
Speaker 2:You have a bourbon, I am also known and so you know I've had this conversation many a times. Just to help people better understand. There is a line between those who can consume with great responsibility and then there are those that the minute they have the drink, their body and their mind and spirit is totally into that alcohol or whatever it happens to be. So, yes, I am known for having a good bourbon. On occasion it's one of my go-tos if I do go out and have a beverage. But I also recognize that I am very much sensitive to the work that we do and ensuring that people understand that it's okay to do things with great moderation and responsibility, but also being sensitive in some respects to the plight that others are going through.
Speaker 1:So running is like your. Oh my gosh, yes, if you couldn't run, you'd have some problems. You'd be like, you'd have to like figure out, like mall walk or something.
Speaker 2:Let's just say I ended up with COVID twice. I still ran.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I had a couple of things where it was just like just the stressful moments. I still run. It is literally a great release for me. But it's also been like this when I say it's an addiction, I get the runners high, as most people would say. So when I complete a marathon, there are moments and I laugh about this with people.
Speaker 2:I say, when I'm running a marathon, depending on how I'm feeling for it. There's moments I'm like, oh man, this is going to be great. And then I can get to mile 18 and be like this totally sucks. And then when I get to 26.2, I'm like, sign me up for the next, right. So I mean it's truly an accomplishment. It feels good. It's the one thing that I know that I can do that benefits me and myself and helps me feel good, stay in good shape, all those wonderful things.
Speaker 2:But I also have come to learn can be a bit of inspiration for others, because I do know that there are other people who watch me, other people who have taken up running or at least have gone out and started walking or have taken a different look at their health, because they said he runs every day. Do you run every day, Every single day, Seven days a week. Seven days a week what times? So it varies. Most times I will run in the morning, Sometimes I will run in the evening. It just depends on what my day will look like, and I will usually run about a 5K a day, it just depends, and much longer on the weekends.
Speaker 1:How much longer on the weekends?
Speaker 2:On the weekends I can get up to 20 plus miles a day.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I'm going to challenge you All, right, okay. So where's the strength training?
Speaker 2:The strength training. So core is not my strongest yet.
Speaker 1:So you got to work on that. You needed some weights For all the runners. I love this running for you. I love the cardiovascular, I love it. But you've got to get some strength training in. You've got to start throwing up some weight.
Speaker 2:That's true For a period of time I was. This is my excuse and excuses we know are Like assholes everyone's got one Bingo. Being busy, I've got to start integrating more time in. So I'm actually a part of a group with one of my fraternities and everybody encourages each other and talk about what you got to do in terms of strength training, core work except exercise and so forth. So I've taken some of that advice. I just got to apply it a little. I'm gonna.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna push that on you. I'm telling you, especially as we age, we age. I mean, you're still young, you're still young. Thank you for that too, but listen, I mean the strength training and it's great for your brain. Yes, it is Obviously, just like the whole, the balance, the agility, muscle mass, bone density you got to. You know, throw that in there.
Speaker 2:That's true, that is true.
Speaker 1:You didn't know I was going to try to school you on your you're like, listen to me, I'm running all the time. I'm great, I'm like ah, you got to mix that shit up.
Speaker 2:I am totally open to good advice and reminders because, you're absolutely right, I mean good, solid runners. They have strength training in their program.
Speaker 1:Now? Do you get any injuries anywhere? How are your knees, how are your ankles?
Speaker 2:Very early on. Everything hurt it when I first started running, because the body is adjusting, and then for a period in time I was okay, and then on occasion, something would start to feel a little wonky and, to your point, a little bit earlier. Most of the times where my body would say, hey, you're not doing what you're supposed to do, it's usually because I didn't do my stretching before or my stretching afterwards. It's like I just went out, I ran and then jumped right into whatever it is I was going to do for the day, and so those things can eventually catch up to you, and that has happened to me on a couple of times. The thing with me is I'm a consistent runner, so there's periods and times where I've run like 14, 15, 16 marathons a year. So training-wise I'm always in shape and in mode for it, and so I try to maintain that. So it has reduced the level of injury because I've always been in active mode.
Speaker 1:Are you single?
Speaker 2:I am engaged.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, you're betrothed.
Speaker 2:I am engaged and so, yeah, I was married for 24 years. My ex, she is an incredibly lovely person. She has gifted intellectually, she's done a lot, we have three wonderful kids together, an amazing, amazing human being. But like anything else, life journey, sometimes it just diverges, and so for us there was a divergence and so since then I have met an incredible woman. She is also I will call her co-CEO, so she runs another nonprofit here in Central Ohio.
Speaker 1:Okay, does she need to remain nameless?
Speaker 2:No, she doesn't, Rachel Lustig. I think most people know All right All right, she is the CEO over at Lutheran Social Services. So, yes, she is the CEO over at Lutheran Social Services, and I decided, we decided, I guess, or God decided, so I am back in the child business again. So we have a three and a half, soon to be four month old.
Speaker 1:Okay, so little Ava. I love that for you Child number four?
Speaker 2:When are you getting married? So, working through all of that, okay. Well, yeah, you have a number four. When are you getting married?
Speaker 1:So working through all of that TBD you have a young one, so that kind of puts all the wedded bliss to the side for a little bit. Good for you, that's incredible.
Speaker 2:It's a blessing to be a blessing, it's all the wonderful things.
Speaker 1:You know, I have a 19-month-old.
Speaker 2:Do you?
Speaker 1:And a six-and-a-half-year-old.
Speaker 2:Awesome Girls boys, A boy and a girl.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, I'm in the thick.
Speaker 2:You're in there.
Speaker 1:Okay, think about this before we end the Mary Haven conversation. Any other points that? So the only other thing that I would share relative to Mary Haven?
Speaker 2:just so that people understand is that we are Ohio's oldest, largest and most comprehensive behavioral health care provider period. And I say that We've been recognized by Newsweek on a national stage because we do substance use disorder, mental health and we work with the homeless population. So we have mid and the entire Midwest. We have the only diversion program where, instead of police officers taking individuals down to the county jails or down to the city jail, they bring them over to us and we take care of them to get them detoxed off of alcohol. So can you imagine that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean what's going on with the homeless population too?
Speaker 2:This is unprecedented times. What we're looking at and what we're seeing with sheltering needs are just compounding and the pressure that exists out there for domestic violence shelters and the pressure that exists out there for domestic violence. Shelters for just general family shelters for women who are single with kids, shelters for men who are in need of shelters. Youth we have some of the best youth sheltering systems, I would say, in the country, but we are all squeezed right now. We are under tremendous amount of pressure with resources and needs. The community will see some homeless camps, they will see some individuals, but what you've got to understand is they're also in places that you don't see, and it's not just under bridges and in camps. Some of these folk are couch surfing and you may go. Well, that's not homeless. Yeah, actually it is, because they're living in environments and situations that are very tenuous at best or they are sleeping in some of the most deplorable conditions, and what we're trying to do is give them a sense of a place where they can find some hope and find outlets and start to get their lives on track.
Speaker 2:There are people living out of their cars. They're what we call the working homeless lives on track. There are people living out of their cars. They're what we call the working homeless. They can't afford where they used to live because the landlord took their rent from $600 a month to $1,800 a month and they're like I can't afford that. One of our city council members talked about her very own experience of having to do that. So this is real and it's not just an urban issue. Mary Haven serves 78 of Ohio's 88 counties. We see homelessness in rural America People who sleep out in the woods, people who sleep in broken down cars, people who find places just to lay their head for the night because that community may not have an active sheltering program. Do you know there are still eight counties in Ohio that do not offer sheltering?
Speaker 1:No, and why? Just because no one's got time to do it, or resources.
Speaker 2:Unfortunately it's. Some people, some places, some communities don't think it's an issue and in some areas they may perceive that to be right because the numbers may not suggest it. The numbers don't suggest it because those people have found places to go, which is usually in the woods, and they're not being counted or they're not reporting and so therefore you don't see it. But yeah, it's there, it's very active and we work with the homeless. We actually partner up with the community shelter board, adam H, franklin County, adam H Boards throughout the entire state and for our diversion program, which we've had other cities come in to try to figure out how to replicate. For our diversion program we've had about a 45% placement success rate. That is phenomenal. That means for those homeless individuals who come to our engagement center and they're intoxicated and they're in need of help, we've been able to help that percentage of them go out to find rapid rehousing or permanent to supportive housing, getting them off the street.
Speaker 2:Now the days and the time length has increased. If we had had this conversation about six years ago I would say we were able to do that in under 27 days. Today it's taken on average 120 plus days to find housing. So Mary Haven is a gift, it is a jewel, it is a landmark, it is a staple in this community. The folk that work at Mary Haven care. They show up every day with their experience and their passion to help other people. We serve more than just substance use and mental health. We have the homelessness. We work with youth. We have kids in our program battling substance use and mental health under the age of five and no, not all of them were born that way.
Speaker 1:How does that happen?
Speaker 2:I'd hate to say it, but let's just face it. Not everybody's going to be the best in their situations and they end up exposing their kids to things that they shouldn't.
Speaker 1:Like what percentage? Like how often do you see that?
Speaker 2:More than I care to say.
Speaker 1:You guys are doing the Lord's work. Mary Haven truly is. I mean, it's unbelievable and I think everyone just needs to. You know, know it and see it and help and contribute. I don't know. I sit here and I think to myself. You know what I'm thinking. Of course I'm thinking about me. It's all coming back to me. Why am I not doing more? How can I help? I need to go to the open shelter. My friend Molly is always doing the lunches. I'm like we can all do so much more. That's one of the great parts of sitting with someone like you. It's like such a reminder that we are also capable and able to serve and help. And why are we not?
Speaker 2:Carrie, I'm so grateful that you brought that up, because the reality is is people tend to think well, you're a fee for service organization, you're billing Medicaid, you're billing insurance, they'll be able to reimburse you, and the reality is is we get pennies on the dollars in terms of total cost structure that comes back. In fact, it has been a struggle to be able to keep up because we are a safety net organization, which means we don't turn anyone away, regardless of their ability to pay. So we end up having to eat that debt and have to go out and find ways to fundraise to offset that debt so that we can continue this journey and provide these services, because it's not going away. As much as I'd love to say, we'd love to close the doors of Mary Haven because there's no longer a need. There's always going to be a need.
Speaker 2:There are stressors in this world that put people into a mental health or mental illness status. Put people into a mental health or mental illness status. There are always going to be people who are going to go out, have themselves a good time and not realize some idiot did something to their food or their beverage and now they're wrestling with that. These things are realities, and so we need help at Mary Haven. We need resources, we need people to come and volunteer. We've had groups from many organizations nationwide insurance, you name it that have come in and volunteered at our program where we house our women and families. They go in, they read to the kids. We've had elected officials come in, talk with them, like literally sit down and help advocate for their needs. So we need folk to just give a damn, I'll come in. I welcome you.
Speaker 1:I'll do. I will you tell me what I need to do and I will come in.
Speaker 2:We welcome you. Come and talk to them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would love to come and talk to them and I think we need to put that out too about, like, how can people help, because I know that it's not for a lack of people caring. I know that it's not for a lack of people caring. I know there's a lot of us in this community alone that I've had the honor to be a part of. People care a lot. I think it's just putting the things in front of them Like here's what you can do. This is how you can help.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. We've had some remarkable people come through, see the facility, talk about the work that we do and because this person that shared it very publicly, I'll share it as well. We've had a billionaire in our state actually come through the facility and he talked about his own travels with addiction and you know, he literally said if I had known more about Mary Haven I would have just come here, because when I look at and I see what you all have done and the services that you're providing, there are places that we've paid to go talking about himself where it was $40,000, $70,000 a month. Yes, you got the private chef, you got the private doctor and all those things, but that was it.
Speaker 2:But did they really dig in and help, really reset you as a person? You all care and you set up the system to show that you care. And he said I would have paid gladly to come here and so he's working with us to help us as we start thinking about more outreach with this work. But that doesn't mean people need to stop. He's just simply saying how can he help by being what you just said? How can he come in and be an advocate? How can he come in and just talk with people, be a sponsor for those that have already been down that journey.
Speaker 1:Put me on the roster.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 1:I'm serious and I already have an idea what I can do. Awesome, okay, anything else before we wrap up this? I mean I could sit with you for at least a day.
Speaker 2:You know, we started this by talking about being a servant leader and being a CEO and all these wonderful things, and I come back to the humble sort of position around this. I wouldn't be sitting here. Be it for, but not for, those five right. What I also share is, in this journey, much like anything else, when you're trying to do good, there's sacrifice. We all have to sacrifice, whether it's your time, whether it's the parties, whatever it is, you're going to end up sacrificing something in order to be able to better your position. My assumption is, kerry, at some point in your journey to get to where you are doing this incredible work, you've had to sacrifice, something we all do. I went and sacrificed to go back to get my MBA and I did that in part because of another gentleman I will call number six. There was actually seven, but I'll call him number six right now and that's Eskel Curl. So Eskel Curl, for those out there in the world at State Farm, knew this man as just being just such a genuine leader, like he cared.
Speaker 2:I worked at State Farm for 10 years and the culture and the motto at the time was all about the people. And how do you empower the people and get them going, because if you can enrich their lives, they will enrich the policyholders' lives and the agents' lives and so forth. And so when I was there, I was a bit courageous and bold at various times and in about 1999-ish I went to Eskel. I saw him walking down the hall one day and I mean, he's a stately figure, always dressed in a suit, I mean like one of those people you go, man, when I grow up I just want to be like him, right. And so, and I stopped him in the hallway and I took a very bold moment and I said Eskel, one of these days I want to be where you are. I want to be in the seat that you sit in. Now, hearing that from someone that's on we'll call it the lower end scale of the spectrum in the organization, he could have taken that any direction. But Esco looked at me and he said Oyama, which I was surprised. He even knew my name, because he didn't have it A hundred percent. He knew my name. He said Oyama, if you want to be in the seat that I sit in, you have to learn the language that we speak in the boardroom. And that was it. And I took that and I said you have got to be kidding me. So basically I slept on it for a little while and what he said was you've got to learn to speak the language of business, because in the boardroom they're not talking about the claim and the execution of Ohio Revised Coals on the front lines. They're talking strategy and vision and economics and implications of what happens in the economy and all these things and how that impacts the business and the competitive landscape.
Speaker 2:And so it was in that moment that I decided I needed to go back to school. And I kept thinking to myself how in the hell am I going to make time for that? I'm working full time. At the time, my wife was in school full time, you know, going off studying to be a dentist, I mean like all of these dynamics. And I was like there's just no way. And then I was like well, you know what my mom did it? She found time raising two kids. Surely I can create the time, but there's a sacrifice. I've got to give up some stuff, and I did. And so I went back, got my MBA at Franklin University, which I highly highly encourage people to explore.
Speaker 2:About 18, 20 plus-ish months I graduated and walked across that stage with my MBA, paid for it myself, and I will never forget because after I got it I went to Eskel's office after I got an appointment and I went and I thanked him and I said I'm grateful for the fact that you told me that, because now I've had the unique experience through my program at Franklin.
Speaker 2:I put together business plans. In fact I put together an expansion business plan for the solder wood making company to go to take their product to Australia, because at the time they were not in Australia. The company actually wanted my business plan. That's how incredibly thoughtful it was. That's how incredibly thoughtful it was and my company at that point, state Farm, took note of that and my career started taking off. So it's moments like that that make a difference. It's moments like that where people can share a word with you, a reflective, and you never know what fire it ignites or where it leads you in life. But I've taken that to heart to say, if I ever found myself in those unique moments, to use it wisely.
Speaker 1:And I say the lesson there, too, is seizing an opportunity. Oh my God, you know how many people would have had the balls to stop the guy in the first place. I mean, that's my message out there. Like, listen, like, seize your opportunity, man, when, when you have the chance to stand out or make a difference or, you know, put yourself out there, differentiate yourself, take it.
Speaker 2:That's what you did. I seized the moment. It put me on radar.
Speaker 1:Put you on the map.
Speaker 2:I did what I needed to do and I equipped myself and I will tell you I have not looked back since. It has been a wonderful, wonderful journey.
Speaker 1:Grateful, I love that, absolutely grateful. Well, I'm grateful that you came in to share this with me. I am just ready. I'm ready to go. I don't know what. I'm going to go seeing me at Mary Haven, trust me.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, I'm telling you, it's going to happen. And if you're still out there following your girl, follow me on YouTube, Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. And until next time, Google, Mary Haven. Go to the tab where it says Volunteer Opportunities. We'll put some stuff out there too, and let's help these folks and keep moving baby. Thank you, Thank you and go listen to Tupac.
