COLUMBUS – The state is getting nearly $2.9 million in federal funds to help Ohioans deal with the emotional aftermath of traumatic events, from natural disasters to mass shootings.
The money, provided through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, will help state officials meet the behavioral health needs of residents affected by natural disasters, mass shootings, and other large-scale man-made and terrorist events, such as the train derailment in East Palestine, Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday.
“It is essential that our behavioral healthcare system is able to quickly respond to the immediate and long-term behavioral health care needs of those adversely affected by trauma,” DeWine said. “These funds will accomplish just that by strengthening Ohio’s emergency preparedness planning and ensuring a swift, coordinated response when surges in behavioral health needs inevitably occur.”
The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services will use the funds to develop resources, including multidisciplinary mobile crisis teams, which can be deployed rapidly around the clock in the wake of a traumatic event, DeWine said.
The announcement came less than a week after the department was awarded a $209,402 federal Supplemental Emergency Response grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to help meet the immediate and ongoing behavioral health needs of East Palestine area residents community.