Brenda Rosser lost her son, Jeremy Trent, to heroin abuse in January, but she hopes that by donating his shoes and clothing to treatment centers in Butler County, she can help another addict before it’s too late.

“I just want to make sure somebody else is helped,” she said after dropping off 18 pairs of Trent’s shoes, most in near-new condition, at the Sojourner Recovery Services executive office at 515 Dayton St. in Hamilton. “This is the first batch I’ve had the heart to let go of.”

Trent was just 36 when he died of a heroin overdose on Jan. 23. The 1995 Monroe High School graduate had a full and productive life until he was introduced to pain pills and started using heroin last year.

“As they say, he had it all, and he lost it all,” Rosser said.

Trent worked in management for a travel logistics agency, and had many pairs of shoes, shirts, jackets, and other clothing items that could help other recovering Sojourner clients as they seek new jobs and rebuild their lives. Rosser said she chose Sojourner to receive her first donation because Trent had received their outpatient care a year and a half ago, though he had applied unsuccessfully to their residential program.

“I know they need (donations) overseas, but I want to make sure his stuff helps somebody here too. And because he was here at Sojourner too, I want to make sure they’re helped too,” she said.

Rosser said she and Trent’s sister, Dawn Hounshell, are organizing a benefit to be held in the next few months in Trent’s name to raise funds for Sojourner and other services to increase their in-patient treatment services.

“Since (Trent) had such a hard time getting in (to the residential program), I would like to see it go to that,” she said.

Sojourner Recovery Services, a nonprofit founded in 1984 and funded by local United Ways and the Butler County Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, includes nine centers in Hamilton that provide substance abuse treatment of varying levels of intensity to teens and adults. Its residential program holds 82 beds: 24 beds for men, 42 for women, and 16 for adolescents.

Sojourner vice president for clinical services Teri Rust said that the nonprofit receives donations all of the time, though they can always use more.

“The community is wonderful, especially around the holidays,” she said.

Mental health and addiction services in Butler County are expanding: Modern Psychiatry and Wellness LLC of West Chester Twp. recently opened a Hamilton center at 25 North F St., and has capacity for 10 individuals to receive services including medically-assisted detox and intensive outpatient therapy.