Volunteers from the various unions that make up the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6 completed second phase of rehab work at a Cleveland addiction treatment facility during the IUPAT’s Annual Day of Community Action on April 21.“It’s no secret that Ohio and Kentucky have been hit hard by the opioid crisis,” said Jim Sherwood, IUPAT DC 6 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer, in a prepared statement. “By donating our time, talent and materials to these projects, union members are standing with the treatment centers and the men and women trying to overcome addiction and resume their lives, just like we have always stood with the hardworking men and women in our community.”The generosity and community mindedness of the union painters and allied trade members was on display at The Absolute House, as 30 volunteers rehabbed suites with drywall work and paint to transform a floor in the former convent and catholic high school building into a sober living facility.The Absolute House’s mission is to provide education, housing and employment resources in order to empower men struggling with alcohol and drug abuse to conquer their addiction and maintain sobriety.This was the second consecutive year IUPAT members performed work at the Absolute House.“The management and residences [of The Absolute House] were excited about the end results of our work,” said Painters and Tapers Local 788 Business Representative Joe Jeffers.Also in attendance for the second year in a row was Democratic Party Lieutenant Governor candidate Betty Sutton, who offered her support to The Absolute House, their staff and residents and the DC 6 volunteers.Besides Cleveland, members from various unions from the DC 6 Council area performed similar work at the TOUCH Metropolitan Community Services administrative building in Columbus and the Addiction Services Council house in Cincinnati.IUPAT members donated approximately $60,000 in labor and materials across Ohio. The support is part of a DC 6 district-wide initiative to focus union resources towards supporting organizations on the front lines of battling the opioid epidemic and addiction in Ohio and Kentucky.