Five Star Employee Donations to Emerge at an All-Time High  

HR manager at Five Star shares her story of dealing with addiction and explains why she and others donate to Emerge every week.  

XENIA — Although Dana Callahan has never personally struggled with the disease of addiction, she has watched those very close to her go down that road, which she describes as a painful downward spiral.  

“Addiction is all-consuming, and debilitating,” she said. “Watching someone go through that and not being able to help is a new level of pain. It’s like an endless cycle. Addicts use whatever they can get their hands on when the disease takes over and the consequences to themselves or others aren’t even a consideration. It was a roller coaster ride – a downward spiral.”  

As the director of human resources for Five Star Home Services, today Callahan said she is grateful to work for an organization that is doing innovative things to combat this epidemic in our local communities. She said she and dozens of other employees at Five Star donate a portion of their weekly earnings to Emerge Recovery & Trade Initiative because they truly believe in the cause.   

“I can tell you that personally I’ve never struggled with addiction but those closest to me have,” she said. “The ripple effect that addiction sends through not only the person suffering with the addiction but those suffering through the addiction with them is significant.”  

Callahan said her youngest daughter, who is now 16 years old, struggles with severe mental health issues because of the abuse and turmoil their family suffered at the hands of her now ex-husband, who was an addict.   

“His lack of employment opportunities and a strong support without judgement system sent him spiraling down to the lowest points of all of our lives,” she said. “My ex-husband was consumed so much with addiction that not even our daughters’ multiple hospitalizations for suicide served as a deterrent. My youngest daughter fell victim to addiction as well but thankfully, we caught it within the first six months, and she has been in recovery for almost two years now.”  

Callahan said she decided to donate to Emerge for all the people in our society that need the kind of services and support systems that Emerge offers.   

“I’d like to think that if my ex-husband had access to Emerge years ago that my family’s lives would have turned out quite differently,” she said. “My sincerest hope is that Emerge can save other families, one person suffering from addiction at a time.”  

What Callahan likes most about Emerge is the complete lack of judgment here and the innovative solutions.  

“There isn’t any judgement here,” she said. “They see the aspirations you have for yourself. They don’t hold the past over your head. This is a place of hope.”  

Additionally, as the director of human resources at Five Star, which is a founding partner and avid supporter of Emerge, Callahan said donations from the employee base are now at an all-time high.  

“We added 36 new employees for a total of $270 a week on top of the employees who donated weekly last year,” she said. “Currently, 37.5 percent of our employees donate – that is out of the 224 employees currently on staff.”  

The approximate giving with the Five Star company match for 2023 was around $35,000. This year, however, the estimated donation is on track to reach around $60,000. 

Dana Callahan has worked in human resources for more than 16 years. Of that time, 14 years have been in the debt collections industry. She has been with Five Star Home Services since July of 2022. Dana has a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in human resource management.