Nonprofit in small Henry County village is having a big impact around Ohio and beyond

HENRY Co., Ohio (WTVG) - A Henry County program is focused on helping strengthen families and communities by working with people impacted by things like incarceration or poverty. It’s called The RIDGE Project. The founder said its programs have helped hundreds of thousands of people in the last 25 years.

What’s happening in the small village of McClure is having a big impact around Ohio and far beyond. Thomas Crowe spent a little more than a year behind bars. He says addiction is what started his journey down the wrong road.

“I started with alcohol and marijuana as a teen. I was in a car accident and prescribed opioids. I ended up using fentanyl and crack cocaine,” Crowe said.

Crowe said prison is where he started to take accountability and turn his life around. He did that by connecting with The RIDGE Project and one of its leadership programs called TYRO.

“It gave me hope that I could take my old life and make it count by doing something positive. When you’re incarcerated, everyone wants to do better when you get home, but you don’t know how to. Tyro gives you the path and the game plan,” Crowe said.

Crowe has been back home for nearly three years. He has two teenage sons, works for a local treatment agency and volunteers with the re-entry council. He says support is critical to long-term success, and TYRO provides that.

“It’s that continued support, it’s the family a lot of these guys don’t have,” Crowe said.

Ron Tijerina knows firsthand just how important that support is.

“Success is never a one-man show. You need a team around you. Everybody needs a cheerleader,” Tijerina said.

Tijerina and his wife, Cathy, have been cheerleaders for thousands of people. Ron spent more than a decade behind bars.

“I was 25 when I went to prison. I served 15 years,” Ron said.

Ron and Cathy are the founders and leaders of The RIDGE Project. Ron said mistakes often lead people to their true purpose.

“We don’t deny our past, but it doesn’t define who we are; that’s what we teach. That’s our mission is to take what society has deemed as disposable. We don’t believe that. We believe in second and third chances. As long as they have a clear understanding of their dream, we help people dream again,” Tijerina said.

An organization based in a small Henry County village, changing lives far beyond its borders. Thomas is glad to be one of the people who have been helped.

“I have peace in my life. I wake up to a beautiful family, I have a job I love, I have a community that respects me. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Tijerina said.

The TYRO program is offered in a number of prisons in Ohio and 16 other states. The RIDGE Project has a number of different programs for adults and young people.

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