YOUNGSTOWN — A local workforce development program is getting support from the county to help make its programming more impactful.

Mahoning County commissioners approved a resolution to provide $100,000 in opioid settlement funds to Flying HIGH, Inc.

Flying HIGH Founder and Executive Director Jeff Magada said the company is putting a 60-by-60-foot addition on its Molina Training Center at the company’s North Side campus at 1414 Kensington Ave. He said they expect it to be completed in May.

“We give opportunities to people to make their lives better, that’s why we exist. We do it through integrated workforce services that integrate job readiness and training with behavioral health services,” Magada said. “And the addition to our training center that these funds are fully helping us to build will be to help them earn skilled trades credentials and then be connected to employment.”

Flying HIGH specializes in combining mental health and addiction recovery with workforce development, by not only giving the people it serves marketable trade skills but also ensuring they have the soft skills to be good employees.

The educational services center at Flying HIGH’s Professional Development Center is certified and accredited the same as schools like Choffin Career and Technical Center and Mahoning County Career & Technical Center.

“It offers accelerated training that leads to industry-recognized credentials and job placement, which is crucial in the process of getting somebody ready for employment,” Magada said.

The training provided is for anyone who needs an opportunity to get back on their feet and start a new chapter, but Magada said it is particularly helpful for those whose addiction background led to a criminal record.

“We’ve learned that a skills credential will neutralize a felony,” he said. “The employer wants to know — can they do the job, can they show up on time, can they pass a drug screening. If that’s current, then you’re marketable. So, we focus on helping them be an asset to the employer.”

While learning the skillsets of their chosen trade — be it welding or culinary arts — most of Flying HIGH’s students also work at the company’s Urban Farm and in its Mobile Market program.

There, they learn the soft skills that will make them good employees, such as showing up on time, punching a time clock, taking instructions well, workplace etiquette and so on.

They also earn paychecks that they use to help pay off court fines, get a car, their driver’s license, and insurance, and acquire other valuable assets for getting back into the workforce.

But Duane Piccirilli, Executive Director of the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board, said they also are learning how to make a difference in their community.

“It’s definitely a program that is making a major difference in Mahoning County. Jeff, I think he sees where the gaps are and provides the necessary training and support to fill those gaps,” Piccirilli said. “I think that the Mobile Market he has is such a blessing to the community. They go to food deserts and provide fresh food to people who would not normally have easy access to those products.”

Piccirilli said that in addition to bringing needy residents food and getting recovering addicts back on their feet, Flying HIGH also helps the local economy.

“They have had the welding program and some others, and now they’re helping train people to be cooks and chefs, and that helps the local restaurant industry too, because they need good employees,” he said.

The money comes through the OneOhio Recovery Foundation, which is charged with managing Ohio’s share of the multi-billion dollar settlements reached with the pharmaceutical industry over its role in the opioid epidemic. OneOhio made more than $51 million available across the state in 2025.

Region 7, comprising Mahoning and Trumbull counties, received about $2.8 million to help fund substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery projects.

Mahoning County commissioners have allocated $300,000 of the $1.7 million they already received, but they will receive varying amounts each year over the next 13 years, totaling about $7.4 million over a 15-year period.