The Paint Valley ADAMH Board has been awarded $119,973.75 to enhance local efforts to connect homeless individuals in Highland, Fayette, Pike, Pickaway and Ross counties with mental health and substance use treatment services. The funding is part of $350,000 awarded across the state by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), Office of Community Planning and Collaboration, Rural Outreach Program.

“Homelessness continues to be an issue in the Paint Valley ADAMH region, and we know many of the individuals who are homeless experience behavioral health concerns,” said Melanie Swisher, executive director of the Paint Valley ADAMH board. “The funding from this grant will enhance and increase local homeless outreach efforts to connect homeless individuals to behavioral health services in our communities through peer support outreach.”

The Paint Valley ADAMH Board will provide money from the grant to community action agencies in each of its five counties to employ peer supporters to conduct outreach. These peer supporters will aim to foster connections with those who are homeless and direct them to the community resources they need, including mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, and other recovery services.

“One goal of this project is to increase the number of mental health service referrals within our homeless populations across the Paint Valley Adamh region,” said Phyllis Amlin-Snyder, ADAMH board chair. “Through collaboration within our communities and existing street outreach teams, we are hopeful that these funds will make an impact on the mental health and well being of individuals who experience homelessness in our communities.”

For more information about the Paint Valley ADAMH Board, visit pvadamh.org.

Submitted by Lorrie Cockrell, Paint Valley ADAMH.