COLUMBUS (WCMH) — President Donald Trump said he will officially declare the opioid crisis a “national emergency” and pledged to ramp up government efforts to combat the epidemic.

Here in Ohio many people who have been trying to fight the issue, believe this is a step in the right direction.

“We’re never going to beat this disease until we get the right treatment,” said Katina Pitzen

Pitzen was a registered nurse and now is a Chemically Dependency Counseling Assistant but says she knows the power of opioid addiction because she’s been in recovery.

“July 14, I celebrated 11 years.”

She was able to go inpatient treatment for 101 days with private insurance.

Something many of her patients don’t have the luxury to do.

Now with the federal government saying the opioid issue is a national emergency she says there’s hope.

Burt Dhira is the CEO of Phoenix Recovery said President’s Trump’s declaration on the opioid issue will open up emergency money from the federal government, but he also says it’s not enough.

“There’s no amount of money that we can throw at this problem,” said Dhira. “It’s the plan that we need to create as a community.”

The plan that county, city and state officials have been trying for years, but on this day Pitzen believes this could be the start of a nationwide solution.

“If we don’t all come together as one voice, and have all of out voices saying the same thing and working in the same direction we’re never going to fix this problem,” said Pitzen.