Keith Biery Golick

3 weeks ago | wcpo.com | Keith Biery Golick

HAMILTON, Ohio — Sam Mees lights a cigarette. A few minutes ago, she took a drug test. Every day when she wakes up, there’s a chance she might be required to take another one. It’s all part of a long journey to keep her nursing license after she lost almost everything to addiction. That's why she’s on her way to see her dad. “He drove me to literally every appointment, every drug screen, every court date,” Mees said.

3 weeks ago | kesq.com | Keith Biery Golick

By Keith BieryGolickClick here for updates on this story CINCINNATI ( WCPO) - Bill Brown is sitting on a picnic table outside the Recovery Center of Hamilton County. In its parking lot, a small court is roped off by several dollies and orange construction cones. Brown's job is to help people living with mental illness. But he's telling me about someone he couldn't reach. It's why he's here: Pickleball practice. This weekly game is his attempt to connect with people in a different way.

3 weeks ago | wcpo.com | Keith Biery Golick

CINCINNATI — Bill Brown is sitting on a picnic table outside the Recovery Center of Hamilton County. In its parking lot, a small court is roped off by several dollies and orange construction cones. Brown's job is to help people living with mental illness. But he's telling me about someone he couldn't reach. It's why he's here: Pickleball practice. This weekly game is his attempt to connect with people in a different way.

4 weeks ago | wcpo.com | Keith Biery Golick

He's already carried one big speaker down a path to the amphitheater. Now, he needs to get another one. But when the musician he asks hesitates, Rosen hikes back up to his car again. He's not surprised. After all, this is practice for a band he started specifically for older adults. A few minutes later, after Rosen sets the second speaker down on the stage, he takes a deep breath. “Not bad for an 80-year-old guy, is it?”Rosen's the leader of New Horizons Band of Cincinnati.

4 weeks ago | wcpo.com | Keith Biery Golick

CINCINNATI — April Austin cooks dinner for her kids. It’s chili spaghetti — without the cheese. And maybe, without the chili. It might turn out to just be hot dogs. It all depends on their mood. “We always have options,” she says with a laugh. A few months ago, Austin wasn’t laughing. Because it seemed like there were no options. “At times, it's just totally out of your control,” Austin said. “You can do everything you know to do and life just happens.”For her, life was her children getting sick.