Chief deputy lauded

CELINA - A local law enforcement official became one of eight frontline workers in the state to receive the 2021 CARES Champions of Recovery Award.

Gery Thobe, Mercer County Sheriff's Office chief deputy, was presented with the award Friday at Foundations Behavioral Health Services in Celina. The award is presented to those who've dedicated significant time to support and serve Ohioans impacted by substance use disorders.

Others throughout the state receiving the award from the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities (OACBHA) include health commissioners, emergency medical service workers, health system workers and another law enforcement officer, according to Sandy Goodwin, executive director of the Mercer, Van Wert and Paulding Alcohol Drug Addiction Mental Health (ADAMH) Services board.

Every year, the association presents awards to frontline workers in appreciation of their efforts to support recovery, Goodwin said.

Thobe was nominated and selected for his work forming the Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) program for local law enforcement and for his work on the overdose response team.

Goodwin said Thobe had helped develop a 40-hour training program for law enforcement that could help them de-escalate situations they encountered in the field where someone is in crisis, whether it be due to mental health or substance abuse.

"The main goal of that is to keep the officers safe and the community members safe," Goodwin said.

Thobe has also served on the board of Foundations and also serves on the ADAMH board. Goodwin said Thobe's presence helps the board craft more effective policies and treatment programs, offering insight from the perspective of law enforcement.

Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey said he was excited to see Thobe recognized for his work.

"At the sheriff's office, when we started seeing the drug problems and some of the issues, and when we started to recognize that just arresting them wasn't going to fix the problem … Gery comes in and goes, 'Hey, I think we ought to use CIT,'" Grey said.

Thobe was the first to be sent to receive Crisis Intervention Training in Sidney, and since then, just about every member of the Mercer County Sheriff's Office has gone through the program, according to Grey. The training helps deputies see through a different lens and allows them to better respond to calls involving people with mental health or drug issues, he said.

Roughly five years ago when overdoses in the area began to increase, Thobe also started the Rapid Response Team with the goal of reaching people with substance abuse issues right away and steering them toward treatment programs, Grey said.

"I don't think he recognizes and realizes how many lives he's probably saved," Grey said, adding that he is proud to have Thobe as chief deputy.

Thobe said the way law enforcement handles mental health and substance abuse issues has changed greatly in his 36-year career in law enforcement.

"It used to be if we had a mental health client, we just loaded them in the car and took them, normally, to Toledo and dropped them off. We've come a long way."

Thobe stated he appreciated the award and hoped things would continue on their current course.