Huron Co. MHAS awards $1.8M in contracts

Sep. 10--The Huron CountyBoard of Mental Health and Addiction Services (MHAS) has approved more than $1.8 million in funding for 13 agencies.

"(They) deliver an assortment of services and supports to the residents of Huron County. After releasing a request for information, 15 proposals were received in April covering a variety of services such as treatment, prevention, housing and recovery supports," executive director Kristen Cardone said.

Currently, the Huron County board is funded by state and federal funds plus a .5-mill local levy.

Below is a list of the agencies awarded contracts along with a brief description of the services provided by each one:

--Firelands Counseling and Recovery Services of Huron County offers mental health services for all ages and comprehensive programs for substance abuse, psychiatric services, vocational rehabilitation, prevention services, educational programs and crisis intervention including a 24-hour help line (800-826-1306).

"Medication-assisted treatment is available. Services (are) available in Norwalk, Willard and Bellevue," Cardone said.

--Services for Aging offers the Age Exchange Program which connects elementary school-aged children with volunteer seniors. This program is a once-a-week group mentoring program where youth gain social, team-building and educational assets.

--Family & Children First Council of Huron County offers youth and family service coordination, wrap-around coordination, along with respite services.

--Miriam House in Norwalk offers safe and stable housing to women and their children.

--House of Hope in Willard offers safe and stable housing to men.

"Staff helps residents identify issues that have contributed to their homelessness and promote recovery," Cardone said, referring to the House of Hope and Miriam House.

--Family Life Counseling & Psychiatric Services offers comprehensive mental health and addiction out-patient services for adults and youth, including assessments, counseling, case management services and school-based prevention services. The services are available in Norwalk, Willard and Bellevue.

--Oriana House offers two comprehensive substance abuse treatment programs in Huron County. Northwest Ohio Behavior & Reporting Services (NO BARS) is a court-ordered treatment program for women and men. Rigel Recovery Services is a substance abuse treatment program open to the public for self-referrals. Medication-assisted treatment is available.

--Bayshore Counseling Services offers early childhood mental health consultation for all schools and preschools in Huron County.

--Catholic Charities of Norwalk offers guardianship services for severely mentally ill adults.

--Huron County Probate Court provides collaborative evaluation and integrated treatment intervention services for substance abusing parents who have lost, or are at risk of losing custody, of their children to abuse, neglect or dependency.

--The Norwalk Police Department provides prevention programs for youth in the Norwalk area including the Safety Town, D.A.R.E. (drug abuse resistance education) and ALIVE programs.

--Willard Community Connectors is a mentoring program providing individual mentoring from caring adult volunteers for at-risk students using evidence-based interventions. The program serves grades five through seven in Willard City Schools.

--Drug Free Clubs of America, run by the Norwalk Economic Development Corp., builds drug-free youth through five drug prevention strategies: Confidential drug testing, positive reinforcement, student leadership, parental support and education. The program will run in the following school districts: Norwalk city, Norwalk Catholic and Western Reserve. EHOVE Career Center Assistant Director Matt Ehrhardt said the school is running a similar program known as Drug Free Learners which will focus on leadership and mentoring.

--Reach Our Youth is a one-to-one mentoring program that matches volunteer mentors with at-risk youth. The program serves youth ages 6 through 18 in the county.

For more information, call the Huron County MHAS Board at 419-668-9858.

___

(c)2019 the Norwalk Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio)

Visit the Norwalk Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) at www.norwalkreflector.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.