Introducing You to Our Administrative Team
Andrea Mihelich
My name is Andrea Mihelich, and I am the head administrator of The Addict’s Parents United. I am originally from Scotland and now living in Euclid, Ohio. I have been married to my husband Dave for 35 years. We have four children and many others who call me “mom.” My qualifiers are my oldest two children, a son and daughter, and proud to say for today, they both are in long-term recovery.
I had a brief introduction to Al-Anon thirty-five years ago, but I honestly didn’t attend meetings regularly. Skip a few years forward, and I met a lady online in the rooms for support for parents—her name is Brenda Stewart. Our friendship grew into a very special bond. We shared the same struggles that come with having the addiction disease in our families, and working together; we found many others that also struggled. Just discovering and realizing “You are not alone” is a comfort, but sharing our journeys and learning from each other evolved into a shared passion for helping others like us.
In this journey, I found myself getting crazier than the madness of my children’s addiction and realized I needed help. I started self-care and meetings. I now work on a very strong recovery. I love sharing and giving back. . My passion is to serve my community and beyond by being an advocate to families who are struggling, not knowing who, what or how to do critical decision making. I want to pass along my experiences and lessons learned. I attend many educational seminars and events to further my education and knowledge about the disease of addiction. I am also on the Opioid Prevention and Education Committee at Cleveland Clinic. Working together, supporting, and learning from each other positively impact my daily walk on this journey.
Karey Dyer
My name is Karey Dyer; I am a mother of two beautiful daughters who have both had issues with Substance Use Disorder. My youngest daughter graduated from rehab and has 6 plus years clean. She is 30 years old and raising three children. I had custody of my youngest daughter’s daughter, Serenity; she is now 9 years old. She lived with us for two and a half years. She is a beautiful child with a huge heart and above-average intelligence. Happy to be back with mommy as she and I prayed, asking God to do for her.
Eight years ago, life began to reveal a serious drug problem with my daughter. My life came to a halt, and I went deep into despair. After suffering and floundering, I found several things that changed my life and gave me hope. I became a member of AA/NA/CR meetings, mentors, and a group called “The Addict’s Parent United. “I have read, studied, sought, prayed, and cried an ocean of tears. Sound familiar, you say? Yes, I understand. As the parent of an addict and an advocate for families fighting Substance Use Disorder, I see many people who share this commonality. We find huge comfort when we realize we are not crazy, nor are we alone. Others, like you, have been through some of the same crazy stuff. I have a two-fold agenda. To lead my family in recovery and support them in becoming all God has planned for us to be and to bring a message of hope to the families suffering from addiction; fighting for rights and reform in all our communities and health systems, and legal institutions until the rest of our country realizes the epidemic is real and must be addressed. I will never give up.
Melinda Ross
Hi, my name is Melinda Ross. I am a single mom of 3 adult children. Their father, my ex-husband, is an alcoholic, and I know now that my son has the disease of addiction.
I questioned my son's drug usage many times. As his mother, I wanted to believe him when he said he doesn't do anything but smoke pot.
Therefore, I tried to put it in the back of my mind, and I wanted to pretend it wasn't true. But after his first overdose, not due to pot, the reality hit me, and I became addicted to his addiction.
I kept thinking; I am his Mom, I can fix him. Wow, was I wrong. I felt very alone and ashamed that I was "One of those Moms with one of those kids."
To find out that many more parents were going through the same.
It took me a long time to overcome the guilt of thinking I caused it. And it was coming to terms that I had a child who suffered from this disease (substance use disorder). If it wasn't for Brenda Stewart, I don't know where I would be right now. I was very sick myself. Fast forward years later, due to all of this, I now find myself raising a grandchild.
I want to educate the world on the disease of addiction and erase the stigma and shame.
Melva Sherwood
After struggling with addiction for over 10 years, my son, Andrew, lost his battle to a heroin overdose. My journey with the disease of addiction has been multi‐faceted involving my own recovery by educating myself on how addiction affects the brain and their judgment. Andrew, before this monster took over, was a smart, caring and compassionate person who was loyal to his friends and family. My recovery has led me down a path of forgiveness of his initial choices that catapulted him and our family into chaos. Now, as I journey thru a never ending grief process, I hope to help others as they struggle. Our children matter, we matter. We are not alone in this and I know without a doubt that we MUST JOIN TOGETHER in order to be effective in conquering this epidemic and save lives. My child mattered, your child matters
Cathy Overfield
I’m Cathy. Married with three kids, three step-kids, and 8 grandkids. I’ve been in recovery since 1986. Clean and sober since 1987. We lost my oldest daughter, Amy, to a heroin overdose on August 10, 2015. My husband and I are raising our youngest child.
I’m one of the administrators on the Grands United page and an active participant in all the other groups. My goal is to help us all find a safe space to share our experiences, strength, and hope with each other. As with many grandparents raising grandchildren due to our children’s substance use disorder, our lives have changed. It’s not quite how we envisioned our retirement, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Twenty-nine years ago, I didn't attend meetings regularly. Skip a few years forward, and I met a special lady online in the rooms for support for parents -- her name is Brenda Stewart. Our friendship grew into a very special bond. We shared the same struggles that come with having the addiction disease in our families, and working together, we found so many others that struggled as well. Just discovering “You are not Alone” is in itself a comfort, but sharing our journeys and learning from each other evolved into a shared passion for helping others like us.
In this journey, I started self-care and meetings, and it saved me and my sanity. I work toward a strong recovery.
Kathy Davis
Hello everyone. My name is Kathy Davis and I live in Columbus Ohio. I am a mother to four wonderful boys. All four boys suffer with the disease of addiction (along with my two daughter- in- laws). By the Grace of God, all are in recovery. When addiction hit my family ten years ago, I was naive and uneducated regarding addiction. To say it "rocked my world" is an understatement. My life became crazy and unmanageable. The sleepless nights, tears, sadness, anger, fears, and chaos controlled every aspect of my wellbeing. I began to isolate myself. I did not know what to do and how to "fix" my children. It was when I became so desperate, that I knew I needed help. I began educating myself, attending Nar-Anon, and parent support group meetings. My journey in my recovery had begun, and my life started to change. It has been, and continues to be, a process. I am learning to live MY life again. It has taken many years, MANY meetings, and many support friends to help me in my recovery.
I have learned through this process and journey that I cannot fix my children...I can only love them. But, I can fix myself. TAPU has been my rock. The people I have met, saved me from my downward spiral. The TAPU community gave me the support I needed, while not judging me. I continue to go to as many meetings as possible and try to help others by sharing my experiences, strength, and hope. I now know that I am not alone. I am dedicated to helping the addiction community in any way possible. I have hosted many meetings, attended events and fundraisers, and will continue in my journey and passion to help other parents.
Board and Advisory
Tony Coder
Pastor Greg Delaney
Pastor Greg serves as the Recovery Services Director for the EMERGE RECOVERY and TRADE INITIATIVE, a RECOVERY ECO-SYSTEM located in Greene County Ohio. Greg also works as a COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST for Statewide Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center, WOODHAVEN, while also serving as a member of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s RECOVERYOHIO Advisory Council where he champions the efforts of the FAITH/RECOVERY community in Ohio. Greg has also been BLESSED to serve as an advocate, educator, and facilitator for faith-based recovery efforts of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and continues to serve as a FAITH-BASED Recovery Educator for Ohio Non-Profit Reach for Tomorrow Ohio where he seeks to educate communities as to substance use disorder’s community impact and how to respond with evidence-based solutions. Pastor Greg also founded a first of its kind holistic faith-based outpatient recovery clinic (The Delaney Center) in Troy Ohio in 2021. Pastor Greg was also recently tapped as a National Trainer for the ENCOMPASS OHIO ‘Navigating Addiction’ program, an evolving educational program developed in partnership between Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s RecoveryOhio initiative and Washington DC based, Addiction Policy Forum. Pastor Greg has also been tapped to assist as a faith-based recovery stakeholder as the Department of Recovery under SAMHSA comes into focus.
Lastly, Greg is leading an effort to establish a Nationwide Consultancy (currently tagged the James214 Project) to help educate, engage, and certify faith-based organizations who are helping individuals effected by substance use disorder, mental health challenges, and suicide ideation. A pilot of this project is underway in Las Vegas, Nevada, Manchester NH, Atlanta GA, and others as a part of an Interfaith Recovery Initiative.
Due to his network and experience as both one in long-term recovery and one who has served those seeking recovery for 13+ years, Pastor Greg serves engages and consults on several boards including the Women’s Recovery Center, Safe Harbor House Ohio, Foundations for Recovery in Las Vegas Nevada, and the Faith Leadership Academy in Atlanta Georgia.
He is a 1988 graduate of Wright State University with a B.S. in Marketing was ordained into ministry in 2009 and has been married to his wife Dr. Elizabeth Delaney for over 30 years and is father to Hillary, Samantha, and Ian.
Morgan Johnston
Morgan has extensive experience in the world of recovery. She is in long-term recovery and has a daughter who suffers from a Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Having a loved one who has a SUD is challenging and requires skill and consistency to make sure you are not making it easier for the loved one to continue using. “Making it easier” is typically called enabling; however, it is a term that Morgan does not use; she likes to think of it as clearing the path for her daughter so she can get closer to recovery. Morgan attends a parent support group and NarAnon meetings to keep herself on the path to her own recovery. These meetings have helped her define boundaries so that her daughter’s SUD does not interfere with her own life.
Morgan received a BS in education from Capital University and is certified to teach Special Education K-12 and Elementary Education grades 1-8. She received a Master of Science in Education and Allied Professions and a Master in Community Counseling from The University of Dayton. She participates in Continuing Education opportunities as often as she can on a variety of topics: Human Trafficking, Women and Violence, and Trauma. She is particularly interested in the connection between Trauma and Addiction and hopes to become more educated in this area to assist in getting to what she believes to be “the root of the addiction.”
She volunteered for 10 years at OSU Talbot Hall, sharing her message of recovery with patients in the detox unit. She is currently employed as an Intensive Outpatient Counselor at Legacy Freedom Treatment Center, which is a holistic, mindfulness-based outpatient treatment center in Grandview, Ohio, and has a small private practice at Trinity Family Counseling in Westerville, Ohio.