Mental health and recovery board receives funding

TIFFIN --- The Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Seneca, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties announced Monday it has been awarded $1,279,809 towards local services for residents facing mental health and/or substance abuse crisis. The funding is part of $90 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), according to a press release. "We are very appreciative and excited to receive these funds," said Mircea Handru, executive director of the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Seneca, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wyandot Counties. "The funds will help expand the Board's crisis infrastructure and improve access to vital services for our residents who are experiencing a mental health crisis." Of the ARPA 2 funds, Handru said $200,000 will be applied to enhance the Mobile Crisis Response Team with the purchase of new vehicles. "When the team started, we received donated vehicles that were beat up and more in the shop than they were on the road," he told the A-T. Handru explained that there are three full-time teams in the board's four-county coverage area. The Mobile Crisis Response Team provides short and long-term care for residents who are experiencing a mental health crisis. The remaining $1,079,809 of funding will be used for juveniles ages 6–17 who receive short-term residential treatment at the Crisis Stabilization Unit in partnership with Harbor in Lucas County. "Because of these investments, more Ohioans and their families will have a better response to their behavioral health crisis needs than ever before," said OhioMHAS Director Lori Criss, in the release. "With these projects, Ohio is taking a leap forward to reverse decades of neglect for Ohio's behavioral health crisis care system, ultimately creating a more hopeful future for people experiencing a behavioral health crisis."