Portage Board Receives State Opioid & Stimulate Response Grant Funding

The Mental Health & Recovery Board of Portage County is pleased to announce it will be able to continue providing life-saving services with funding awarded by the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services through the federal State Opioid and Stimulate Response grant.

The Board received $803,559 to invest in local treatment, recovery housing and supports, and harm reduction services to help the residents of Portage County.

“We are able to increase the recovery supports offered to the community as well as continue high quality treatment with this additional funding,” stated John Garrity, PhD, Executive Director of the Mental Health & Recovery Board.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, the number of stimulant-related overdose deaths have increased in addition to opioids. “This is a trend we have seen in Portage County as well,” commented Garrity. “Fentanyl and methamphetamine are highly available in Ohio and the overdose deaths we are experiencing in Portage County typically involve combination of these drugs.”

The Board will fund Townhall II to continue to serve clients with opioid and stimulant use disorders in the Medication Assisted Treatment Clinic including funding for peer recovery support specialists.

AxessPointe Community Health Centers, which is a Federally Qualified Health Center that provides medical, dental, optometry, pharmacy, and behavioral health services to Portage County residents will also receive funding for Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and will eventually expand to comprehensive harm reduction care.

Hope Town will receive funding to support their recovery housing and recovery-related transportation.

The Mental Health & Recovery Board is the local authority responsible to plan, develop, fund, and monitor the community-based mental health and addiction services in Portage County. For more information, visit www.mental-health-recovery.org