International Overdose Awareness Day Vigil Honors Lives Lost in Lorain County
Memories of loved ones lost to accidental overdose and stories of recovery were shared Aug. 31 at the International Overdose Awareness Day vigil at Lorain County Community College. The vigil was organized by the Lorain County Opioid Action Team.
There were 143 lives lost to accidental overdose in Lorain County in 2021. Events like these help to erase the stigma associated with addiction and raise awareness of resources available in the community. The Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County thanks all the community partners who provided information and resources to help reduce overdose deaths in Lorain County.
PHOTOS: Friends of the MHARS Board Open House
The Friends of the MHARS Board hosted an open house at the Amy Levin Center at the MHARS Board offices Sept. 19, providing attendees with an opportunity to learn more about what we do, meet members of our board and staff, and learn about volunteer opportunities.
We thank the approximately 100 people who attended. If you are interested in supporting the campaign but were unable to attend, click here to sign up for various options to support us in getting this critical levy renewal, Issue 9, passed on Nov. 8. Issue 9 is a five-year renewal of the existing levy funding the MHARS Board, and is not a tax increase. Learn more about Issue 9 at voteforissue9.com.
Check out scenes from the event below, and find out how you can help support the critical work of the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County by voting for Issue 9.
MHARS Board & Community Partners Unveil Suicide Prevention Mural
The Mental Health, Addiction & Recovery Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County – in partnership with The MAD* Factory, Cleveland Mural & Paint and United Way of Greater Lorain County – recently unveiled the suicide prevention awareness mural in Lorain. MHARS Board Executive Director Michael Doud, Program Officer Lauren Cieslak, and Lorain Mayor Jack Bradley all provided remarks.
The mural is located at The MAD* Factory at 2655 Broadway Ave., Lorain, OH 44052. It offers the important reminder that no one is alone and “We’re So Glad You’re Here” and, in Spanish, “Estamos Contentos Que Estas Aqui.”
Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this mural possible!
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is a leading cause of death in the U.S., with 45,979 deaths in 2020 – or about one death every 11 minutes.
There is help for anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide. The Crisis Textline is a free and confidential way to connect with a counselor by texting 4Hope to 741-741. In a crisis, those in need of help can call 9-8-8. The English/Spanish Navigator Line is also a great resource to get connected with non-emergency resources in Lorain County by calling 440-240-7025.
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PHOTOS: First Responders Week of Appreciation
In support of those on the front lines of the opioid crisis, the Mental Health, Addiction & Recovery Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County and volunteers showed their gratitude for First Responders Week of Appreciation. Volunteers took thank you baskets to law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, children’s service workers, 911 dispatchers, behavioral health workers, and others helping to save lives in Lorain County.
Thank you, first responders, for all you do! Here are some scenes from deliveries throughout Lorain County.
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Proposals Now Accepted for the Frederick P. Slanina Foundation Fund
We are pleased to announce that proposals are now being accepted for the Frederick P. Slanina Foundation Fund. Currently, there is approximately $13,000 in the fund. Deadline submission is Dec. 15, 2022. The notice of awards will be announced at the end of February 2023 by the Slanina Fund Committee.
HISTORY
In 1996, the former Lorain County Board of Mental Health (LCBMH) and the Mental Health Network agencies identified the need to support staff development within the network. Ten agency Executive Directors presented a signed request to the LCBMH. This request put into motion the Frederick P. Slanina Foundation Fund, named after the LCBMH’s executive director, who was retiring after 20 years of service with the Board and a total of 30 years in the mental health field. At their Feb. 20, 1997 meeting, the Board of Directors of the LCBMH adopted a resolution to officially establish the fund.
Listed below are the fund’s priorities as determined in 1998, and attached are guidelines for individual applicants and for joint workshops.
PRIORITIES
- Scholarships to assist Mental Health Network staff in obtaining undergraduate or graduate education required for certification.
- A grant to support a joint workshop for professional development in Lorain County.
SLANINA FOUNDATION FUND
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR INDIVIDUALS
- Scholarships will be granted for use during the 2023/2024 academic years.
- Scholarships must be for courses at an accredited institution and can be for an undergraduate or graduate degree.
- The individual must be an employee of a contract agency of the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County during the entire fiscal year for which the money is awarded.
- The individual must have successfully completed a semester or quarter to be able to receive scholarship funds.
- Individual requests must come through the Director of the Agency of employment with a recommendation from the direct supervisor.
- Scholarship funds will be disbursed to the agency or educational institution, not the individual.
INSTRUCTIONS
Please provide the following information:
- Name, Address, Phone, Position, Employing Agency.
- Amount and purpose of the grant, and a simple budget.
- Name of educational institution, length of time anticipated to complete a degree, and degree sought.
- Rationale regarding how the grant will help the individual’s professional development, and how it will help the agency.
- Length of service and professional goals.
- Commitment to provide service in the Mental Health Network throughout the fiscal year.
- Agency Director’s review and letter of recommendation.
- Date when the grant is needed.
- Please indicate if you have applied for or are receiving funding from other sources, i.e., grants, loans, and/or scholarships.
- A recent copy of your student transcripts.
Regarding distribution of funds, preference will first be given to courses leading to a degree from an accredited college or university, or for licensure, then consideration will be given to alternate methods or creative learning opportunities.
Please return requests and required documents by Dec. 15, 2022 to:
Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County
ATTN: Patrice McKinney
1173 North Ridge Road East, Suite 101
Lorain, OH 44055
SLANINA FOUNDATION FUND
JOINT WORKSHOPS
The second priority will be limited to a grant of $2,000. The purpose is to encourage the contract agencies to come together to plan a joint workshop, and the opportunity to benefit the professional development of the maximum number of staff.
One agency should be chosen to submit the request and serve as the fiscal agent.
The workshop may be expanded to others in the community and fees may be charged to offset additional expenses.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR JOINT REQUESTS
- Name of agency, address, phone, tax I.D. number.
- Indication of other contract agencies involved in the request. Names of other agencies.
- Purpose of the grant sought and a financial budget.
- Rationale regarding how the grant will help the collaborating agencies professional development of staff and the agencies programs.
- Date when the grant funds are needed.
Please return requests and required documents by Dec. 15, 2022 to:
Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board of Lorain County
ATTN: Patrice McKinney
1173 North Ridge Road East
Suite 101
Lorain, OH 44055
To view this information as a pdf file, please click here.
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Friends of the MHARS Board Open House on Sept. 19
Join us for our Friends of the MHARS Board open house at the Amy Levin Center at the MHARS Board offices.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with remarks beginning at 6 p.m. Learn more about what we do in Lorain County, the work of our providers and how you can help us make a difference. Meet our Board of Directors, staff and providers. Connect with others interested in volunteering.
Light refreshments will be provided. Activities for children will also be available.
RSVPs are appreciated, though not required. RSVP here.
WHEN: 5:30 to 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 19
WHERE: Lorain County MHARS Board offices in the Amy Levin Center, 1173 North Ridge Road, Lorain, OH 44055
Questions? Email us at outreach@mharslc.org
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Renewal Levy for Lorain County MHARS Board Placed on November 2022 Ballot
LORAIN, OHIO – The Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to place a five-year renewal of an existing levy funding the Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County on the November 2022 ballot.
Voters last approved, with 74 percent support, a five-year levy in 2018 to ensure that families have mental health crisis options in emergencies, treatment and prevention programs for children and adults, and addiction recovery services. The MHARS renewal levy is critical to ensure cost effective prevention and intervention programs continue.
The levy request on the November ballot, won’t raise taxes, but it will continue to promote stronger, safer communities by funding programs essential to effective mental health and addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
“Nearly 16,000 Lorain County residents received mental health and recovery services across our health network in 2020,” said Michael Doud, Executive Director. “The levy, which won’t raise taxes, continues to care for individuals in Lorain County and their families in times of crisis.”
With the construction of the new Lorain County Crisis Receiving Center – a 32-bed facility for those experiencing mental health and substance use disorder crises – the levy renewal will be an essential part of strengthening the crisis continuum in the county.
“This levy will not raise taxes,” said Dan Urbin, Chair of the MHARS Board of Directors. “In 2021, there were 147 overdose deaths. The number of overdoses from January to May 2022 has surpassed the number of overdoses from the same time period last year, January to May 2021. These dollars are essential to address mental health and the addiction epidemic in Lorain County.”
The levy will be assigned an issue number in September. The voter registration deadline for the November 8 election is October 11.
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Suicide Prevention Mural Unveiling Event on Sept. 24
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month and you’re invited to join us on Sept. 24 when we unveil the first public art mural created to raise awareness, reduce stigma and provide education on suicide prevention in Lorain County. This family-friendly event, in partnership with the MAD* Factory, is free and open to the public.
WHERE: MAD* Factory Lorain, 2655 Broadway Ave., Lorain, OH 44052
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 24 from 1 to 3 p.m.
Questions? Contact lcieslak@MHARSLC.org
Click here to view the event flyer.
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Save the Date: International Overdose Awareness Day is Aug. 31
The Lorain County Opioid Action Team is hosting a vigil in memory of the 143 lives lost to accidental overdose in Lorain County in 2021. Community partners will be there with resource tables for prevention, treatment, recovery support. Free Narcan kits and more will be available. Those in recovery and the families of those who have struggled with addiction will share their stories.
WHERE: Spitzer Conference Center at Lorain County Community College, 1005 Abbe Rd. N., Elyria, OH 44035
WHEN: Aug. 31 from 5-8 p.m.
Questions? Email Jinx Mastney at jmastney@mharslc.org.
“In 2022, we have seen in Lorain County a number of overdose anomalies – which means there have been a series of unusual spikes in overdoses,” said MHARS Executive Director Michael Doud. “By coming together to remember those who lost their lives to accidental overdose and increasing the awareness of those struggling with substance abuse disorder, we can reduce the stigma, and hopefully, the number of drug-related overdose deaths.”
The event is free and open to the public. Overdose Lifeline trainings are offered for free in Lorain County. These courses are aimed at educating and training the public on the facts of addiction, the opioid crisis, combating stigma, harm reduction, and more. These trainings offer a way to learn about the epidemic and ways to help others struggling with substance use disorder. Addiction is a medical disease that can affect anyone, and it is important for all of us to learn more about it and to remove the stigma surrounding it.
People and communities come together annually to raise awareness of one of the world’s most urgent public health crises – one that, unfortunately, is only getting worse. In 2021, IOAD events of all kinds were held in at least 37 countries.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime’s most recent World Annual Drug Report, nearly half a million people around the world died as a result of drug use in 2019.
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MHARS Board of Lorain County Announces New Board Officers
The Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services (MHARS) Board of Lorain County’s Board of Directors voted at its June 28 meeting on new officers for the 2023 Fiscal Year.
The officers for this one-year term will include:
- Dan Urbin, who will continue to serve as Chair
- James Schaeper, Vice Chair
- Hope Moon, Chair of Governance
- Sandra Premura, Treasurer
“With several important priorities ahead, one of the most notable of which is the construction of the Lorain County Crisis Receiving Center, the Board has been tasked with some of the biggest improvements to crisis care in Lorain County since its merger in 2019,” said Urbin. “I look forward to continuing to serve as the Board Chair and working with my fellow Board members, the Lorain County Commissioners, community leaders and residents.”
Under Ohio Revised Code 340, the volunteer Board of Directors has the legal responsibility for the planning, funding and monitoring of community mental health and alcohol and other addiction treatment services in Lorain County.
The Board of Directors also bid farewell to two retiring longtime Board members, Dr. Denise Eacott and Karen Sutera.
“It has been a privilege to work with Dr. Denise Eacott and Karen Sutera,” said MHARS Board Executive Director Michael Doud. “I thank them for years of invaluable service to the Board and dedication to improving mental health, addiction and recovery services for those in need and their loved ones in Lorain County.”
There are currently two Board of Directors vacancies that must be filled. Board members are not compensated and must complete an application and interview process before being appointed by the Lorain County Board of Commissioners or Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addictions Services. Applications can be found on our website by clicking here. Submit completed applications to Patrice McKinney at pmckinney@mharslc.org.
Prospective Board members must be residents of Lorain County and have an interest in mental health and/or addiction. In addition, a board member may not be related to any Lorain County Commissioner. A board member may not serve on the Board of any agency under contract with the Board or be employed by any such agency. A board member may not be employed by or be related to anyone employed by the MHARS Board. To learn more, visit our website.
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