The Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan & Champaign Counties recently was awarded $1,110,061.31 in federal State Opioid Response (SOR) 2.0 funding from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
“The MHDAS Board and staff are extremely grateful to OhioMHAS, to Senator (Rob) Portman and all those who advocated for the federal CURES legislation that helped to fund this initiative as a way to address the significant mental health and addiction needs in local communities,” Executive Director Tammy Nicholl said in a release.
“We, along with our system of providers, are very excited to see this level of investment of new dollars into our local system of care.”
The impacts of the SOR 2.0 funding will touch the entire continuum of services from prevention to treatment services and recovery supports for those in the community struggling with addiction, the executive director noted.
These dollars will provide increased resources in a number of ways, including the following:
• CORE Coalitions working to address substance abuse;
• Funding to support the development of Faith Coalitions in both Logan and Champaign counties;
• Increased availability of peer support services in community settings;
• Access to Medication Assisted Treatment medications in the jails and community;
• Increased access to in-patient crisis stabilization and withdrawal management services;
• Transportation resources for behavioral health services in and outside of the community; and
• Development of a more community-based crisis response system and recovery housing.
The federal SOR 2.0 dollars offer hope and opportunities for the MHDAS Board to ensure services are available for people of Logan and Champaign counties at this critical time, Nicholl said.
“All of this could not come at any better time given the impacts that COVID 19 has had on our community. While COVID has had a tremendous impact on the physical health of many in our communities, it has also left a significant wake of mental health and substance abuse wounds that will take some time to recover from.
“Our communities are fortunate to have provider agencies that have not missed a beat in continuing to meet behavioral health needs and adjusting to deliver those services in creative ways.
“Even still, they are all feeling the weight of a lack of capacity to meet the level of need we have today in mental health and addiction across the lifespan and the socioeconomic sectors of our communities.”
The MHDAS’ local crisis hotline is available 24 hours a day at (800) 224-0422 or (937) 376-8701, or text line by texting “4Hope” to 741-741.The agency offices are located at 1521 N. Detroit St., West Liberty, and additional information is available at www.mhdas.org.