MASON COUNTY — People in Mason County now have not just one but two new resources in the battle against drug addition and alcohol abuse.

The Loved Ones’ Support Group has branched out from the Huntington and Portsmouth, Ohio areas to include chapters in Point Pleasant and Mason. The Loved Ones’ Support Group meets at 6 p.m., every Thursday at Main Street Baptist Church in Point Pleasant and Soul Harvest Church in Mason.

Loved Ones’ Support Group has a mission of helping families and friends of addicted loved ones to understand the disease of addiction and that recovery for the addicted person often begins with positive action by the family. There is no fee to participate and no personal information is required. The group is totally confidential.

The Loved Ones’ Support Group offers a series of informational meetings that include identifying the disease of addiction and understanding the progression of addiction; how the addicted loved one decides to get help; the recovery process and family recovery; and 10 things a family member or friend can do to help.

A spokesperson for the Loved Ones’ Support Group was invited to participate in a Mason County Anti-Drug Coalition forum a few months ago to talk about the group and what it offered. At that meeting was Cary Dixon who spoke about her 24-year old son who started his drug use with marijuana, progressed into hard drugs and has overdosed multiple times.

Dixon told the group her son is a “wonderful young man” and addicts “aren’t bad people” but are “sick people trying to be well.” She said she and her husband were desperate for help when they found the Loved Ones Support Group which meets at 6 p.m., every Tuesday at the Barnett Center at 1524 10th Ave. in Huntington. Dixon said families need help as well as addicts because having family members dealing with addiction is like a being on a roller coaster, explaining “until someone gets off, everyone is going down.”

At the time, Dixon, who is a facilitator of the Huntington group, said the Loved Ones Support Group was willing to start its own chapter in Mason County and this has come to fruition. Several members in the community, including support from Main Street Baptist Church, Soul Harvest Church, Pleasant Valley Hospital and the Mason County Anti-Drug Coalition have joined forces to bring the group to life - giving the group a presence in both Point Pleasant and the Bend Area.

For more information, contact Robin Jones at 304-675-0440 or Greg Kaylor at 304-675-0388.