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"Congratulations to the Ohio Department of Commerce," said Brendan Gannon, Senior Marketing Manager for Ragan's PR Daily's Awards programs. "Your recognition is a testament to the dedication and innovation that your team has poured into your work."

"I'm thrilled that this initiative, and the hard work that went into its development, is receiving this special recognition by PR Daily," Ohio Securities Commissioner Andrea Seidt said. "There is a very real need across Ohio and the country for education and enhanced awareness of the resources that are available to help families navigate both the health and financial challenges related to opioid addiction. I'm extremely proud of the work that has been done to develop and offer such an important and innovative program. I look forward to making 'Recovery Within Reach' more accessible to industry professionals across the country, and for others to use this program as a model to develop additional initiatives that will have a positive impact in the lives of others."

Commerce's Division of Securities developed the "Recovery Within Reach" program in 2022 with the goal of educating financial professionals and Ohioans about the cost of opioid addiction. A 2017 Investment News national survey found that 36% of financial advisers had at least one client (or client family member) struggling with the costs of opioid addiction. Approximately 82% of respondents in the survey said they had not received any training to address this issue but reported that addiction disrupted the financial and retirement plans for more than half of their clients. In addition, a recent survey found that Ohio advisers estimate the median financial impact of opioid addiction to be $35,000 per client per year.

Given the Division of Securities licenses more than 211,000 investment professionals throughout Ohio, it sought to develop a first-of-its-kind program to ensure licensees have access to the information and training they need in the event they consult clients who have been touched by opioid addiction. With the assistance of Futurety, Measurement Resources and Paul Werth Associates in Columbus, Commerce developed and launched a $1.5 million comprehensive educational media and outreach campaign to help Ohio families and financial advisers navigate the unanticipated financial challenges created by opiate addiction. This plan involved the development of various resources and tactics, including a new website, the creation of an interactive treatment map, outreach and media relations strategies, a social media strategy, and the development of public service announcements. In addition, the Department developed both online and in-person courses, which were offered throughout the state.

"I talk to people who say they have exhausted their life savings; they've emptied their retirement trying to get their loved one through rounds and rounds of treatment. It doesn't have to be that way," said Lori Eisel, President of Arcadia Financial Partners.

"One of the things that we do every year is to recertify ourselves and that requires us to understand and know who our customers are; that's one of our fiduciary responsibilities," said Michael Rudolph, former NAIFA-Cincinnati President. "It always talks about elder abuse, and it always talks about children taking advantage of their families, but it does not talk about substance abuse; it doesn't talk about addiction. This training is very impactful to help you identify those issues and those red flags. It's not our job to be the psychologist or to be the doctor, it's just to identify and then pass on information where resources are available."

Today, the "Recovery Within Reach" program continues to offer educational resources to financial advisors as it relates to the physical and financial health and wellbeing of their clients. Commerce is currently exploring ways to further grow the program and make it available to industry professionals beyond Ohio and across the country.

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About Ragan Communications and PR Daily

Ragan Communications has been delivering trusted news, training and intelligence for more than 50 years to internal and external communicators and business executives via its conferences, webinars, training, awards, subscriptions and its membership divisions. Its daily news sites-PRDaily.com and Ragan.com-are read by more than 600,000 internal and external communicators monthly.

About the Ohio Department of Commerce

The Ohio Department of Commerce is the state's chief regulatory agency, focused on promoting prosperity and protecting what matters most to Ohioans. We ensure businesses follow the laws that help them create jobs and keep Ohioans safe. To learn more about what we do, visit our website at com.ohio.gov.