As we approach the two-year mark of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, MHAOhio has continued to be a leader on mental health. We’ve come alongside individuals and families when they need help, fostered growth and healing inside our communities, and advocated for improved access and affordability for mental health services.
To protect against COVID-19, many of our programs and services continued offering virtual options. This allowed many of our services to expand, including Peer Recovery Support (PRS) services for professionals who use their lived experience to help others on their path to recovery. Our team held nine virtual trainings with more than 100 professionals completing the class. We also launched a new leadership training that included six months of individual coaching for PRS. And we built out our monthly PRS newsletter to include job opportunities, additional trainings, and support services to maintain a strong network of peers.
POEM
also expanded in 2021, serving more than 2,000 moms in need of support with maternal mental health complications and connecting them with a greater number of specialized clinical referrals due to increased access to telehealth services.
POEM Rise – maternal mental health services exclusively for Black and African American moms on their path to recovery – saw a 25 percent increase with 500 Black moms reaching out for culturally responsive support and resources. POEM Rise now has six support group sessions a month and has hosted three virtual Pathways to Wellness events, which provided dozens of Black mothers an interactive space to deeply engage with Black mental health and maternal health professionals about accessing better care for themselves. In addition to one-on-one support, we also added more than 30 new providers of color to our directory, 12 of whom have specialized maternal mental health training. Peer support is critical for this program, and POEM Rise has generously awarded eight of those providers of color with scholarships to obtain a Perinatal Mental Health Certificate through our partner Postpartum Support International.
Statewide Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) efforts, in collaboration with MHA of Northern Kentucky and Southwest Ohio, resulted in over 6,000 individuals trained, exceeding the program goal of 4,000 set by the funder, the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS). Our local MHFA team trained over 400 individuals.
In addition to our statewide work on MHFA, our work outside Franklin County continues to grow. The Fairfield Client Navigator served 90 individuals, providing referrals, information, and advocacy services to members of the community. Client Navigator is currently seeking out partnerships with local schools to better address the mental health of both youth and school staff.
Our Support Groups for Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, OCD, Schizoaffective Disorders, and specialized groups for Latina women – a Spanish-speaking group, and families of those with mental illness all continued online in 2021 with a few returning to in-person meetings toward the latter half of the year. We’ve served more than 1,000 people within these groups and found new and innovative ways to reach out to even more individuals, including using the Meetup App to promote our meetings. One client from our Anxiety Support Group shared, “So many people could relate to each other and gave helpful advice to each other, which made it feel like a real safe space to talk about my anxiety, which I can’t bring up with friends.”
Telehealth options allowed Pro Bono Counseling (PBCP) to link 129 individuals with free services. Our team recruited 25 new licensed volunteer counselors, each of whom committed to offer at least 12 free counseling sessions each year. In total the program facilitated more than 750 hours of counseling. The PBCP has also assisted the Pro Bono Counseling Project of MHA Michiana as they successfully moved from a pilot project to a full-time program, offering our experience and consultation along the way.
Get Connected offered care navigation to nearly 1,000 callers. One client reported, “Through their help, I was able to find a therapist who could help me with my complex PTSD. My therapist retired, and I was very frightened that I could not find someone with the experience to help me. So, for me, this was a big thing.” Family Advocate, which offers extended care navigation support to families of those with mental illness, worked with fifteen new families.
Occumetrics, MHAOhio’s workplace wellbeing assessment, completed the first round of 12 assessments through the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations and nine assessments through funding from OhioMHAS. Additionally, in 2021, the program grew to two full-time staff and obtained a 70 percent OhioMHAS funding increase for 2022. This means even more behavioral health agency leaders will learn how to retain their staff, increase staff job satisfaction, and more consistently meet their community’s mental health needs.
In addition to our programmatic efforts, we advocated for many important pieces of legislation, including House Bill 281, a work in progress since 2016 that updates and revises the harmful and derogatory language in the Ohio Revised Code pertaining to individuals with disabilities and mental health conditions. With bipartisan leadership and the backing of mental health leaders, including MHAOhio, the bill passed the house and was introduced to the Senate Health Committee. We also continue to advocate for movement on HB 122, HB 135, HB 142, and federally, the PEERS Act, TRIUMPH Act, and the Momnibus package.
MHAOhio also hosted the Ohio Mental Health Caucus with co-chairs, Senators Bob D. Hackett (R-10) and Nickie J. Antonio (D-23) and Representatives Jay Edwards (R-94) and Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-25). Senators Hackett and Antonio also received recognition from MHA national as Legislative Champions.
The Franklin County Suicide Prevention Coalition (FCSPC) developed its first three-year strategic plan, laying the foundation for even greater impact in the years to come. Through its Speakers Bureau, the FCSPC also provided suicide prevention training and information to over 350 community members. MHAOhio received the Ohio Injury Prevention Partnership’s 2021 Promising Practice Award for the FCSPC.
MHAOhio’s 2021 Youth Mental Health Conference, provided virtually, was an incredible success. More than 300 mental health professionals from around the state took part in the all-day training focused on “Understanding the Impact of Racial Trauma on Youth and Emerging Adults.” Dr. Adrienne Kennedy, La Shanda Sugg, LPC, Erin Upchurch, MSSA, LISW-S, the team from the Building Better Lives Initiative at Franklin County Children and Family First Council, and Marian Stuckey and representatives of the Columbus CARE Coalition shared their knowledge on the effects of racialized trauma on individuals and communities. Attendees raved about this year’s presenters, calling the conference “informative,” “fantastic,” and “phenomenal.”
Our work is only possible when a community that cares as much as ours comes together. To our donors, volunteers, sponsoring organizations and businesses, and funders – including the ADAMH Board of Franklin County, United Way of Central Ohio, and the Fairfield County ADAMH Board – thank you all. Our momentum in this work is truly a collective effort.
