Federal funding for low-barrier shelter, other mental health abruptly terminated

Funding for youth and adult mental health programs in Hancock County – and for the new low-barrier shelter at City Mission – was abruptly terminated at midnight Wednesday, leaving local agencies scrambling to determine what to do next. Three grants totaling around $1.5 million from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were terminated. They include a children's mental health grant of $1 million a year for the System of Care initiative for youth, managed primarily by Family Resource Center, $500,000 per year for Project HOME, which funds the low-barrier shelter, and $189,000 in funding to FOCUS Recovery and Wellness Center. Tyler Layton, program director for City Mission of Findlay, wrote in an impact statement that they do not intend to close the low-barrier shelter, but will "urgently need" community support to keep the doors open. Precia Stuby, executive director of the Hancock County board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services, said she and her staff reached out in the "wee hours of the morning" to members of their board, federal representatives, Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn, the Hancock County commissioners, ADAMHS' state and national associations, and the Hancock County prosecutor, who provides legal representation.