Sep. 15—September is Recovery Month and a new program, One Love Healing, Wellness, Recovery, and Support, has been launched to address what organizers report is a need for culturally competent mental health and substance use care, particularly in Black, indigenous and people of color communities in the Greater Painesville area.

"Faith In Recovery," will be One Love's inaugural event, and it will take place 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in the lower-level classroom of Morley Library, 184 Phelps St., Painesville.

Craig Sams Jr., will share how his Christ-centered faith played a key role in his mental health and trauma recovery, according to a news release.

According to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, people from non-white backgrounds are often at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing quality mental health and substance use care. One Love seeks to bridge this gap by offering a holistic, evidence-based and culturally sensitive approach to recovery, the release stated.

"The gap in mental health care, especially in BIPOC communities, is a pressing issue that needs immediate attention," the Rev. Brian Jones, the pastor/founder of Cross Outreach Ministry, stated in the release.

One Love is a Cross program.

"One Love aims to reduce stigma and provide high-quality, affordable treatment options that have been lacking for far too long," Jones said.

The program integrates biblical principles with the latest evidence-based, trauma-informed recovery practices, according to the release. Services range from promoting medical marijuana and psychedelics as potential treatments to offering BIPOC-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy.

One of One Love's key innovations is its dedication to community-based initiatives that aim to keep affected individuals out of jail and within their communities, the release stated. Collaborating with existing programs like Stepping Up Ohio, Teen Challenge Ministries and St. John Baptist Church, Painesville, One Love offers a variety of jail diversion methods, including mobile crisis de-escalation training and arrest diversion.

Online and in-person support groups are also part of the program's multifaceted approach.

"Our vision is a world where high-quality mental health care is accessible to everyone, irrespective of their race or background," Jones stated in the release.