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UMADAOP Lucas County celebrates 25th anniversary
Twenty-five years ago, the Lucas County chapter of the Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program (UMADAOP) started with a staff of one and a single prevention program.
Today, UMADAOP Lucas County maintains a staff of 25 and oversees more than 10 longstanding and outcome proven prevention and intervention programs in Lucas County .
“We started out with a single prevention program and have become a comprehensive provider agency offering a variety of services,” John L. Edwards, Sr., Executive Director of UMADAOP Lucas County said.
Since its inception in 1980, UMADAOP Lucas County has established multiple prevention and early intervention programs for women, men, youth, families, and former prison inmates.
Working with an annual budget of about $1 million, UMADAOP Lucas County strives to address issues associated with alcohol, tobacco, crack cocaine, HIV/AIDS, adolescent marijuana use and gang involvement relative to drug trafficking.
To date, UMADAOP is one of the few prevention provider agencies that work directly with drug court clients in the greater Toledo area.
“Through it all, we’ve managed to help kids and parents face uncertain challenges,” Edwards said. “UMADAOP continues to provide after-school programming where literally nothing else takes place. We see prevention as having tentacles and arms to reach out to all segments of the community to create and sustain a healthy environment in which to work, live and play.”
Such programming now exists in public housing developments such as the Brand Whitlock Homes, Weiler Homes, Old West End, and in the North Toledo area.
UMADAOP Lucas County is a community-based organization that provides health promotion, wellness activities and prevention services in order to help children, families and communities acquire and maintain healthy and productive lifestyles. It is partially funded and supported by the Lucas County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board and is associated with The Community Partnership. UMADAOP Lucas County is located at 2447 Nebraska Ave. in Toledo .
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