Ohio awards $1.7 million to local agencies for first responder wellness

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday that 13 local first responder agencies will receive $1.7 million to support the wellness needs of first responders.

The grants are part of the third round of the Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention, Resilience Program. To date, the state has awarded $11 million to 58 Ohio agencies.

“First responders see tragedies on a daily basis, so it's essential that wellness support is easily accessible," DeWine said in a statement. "This funding will help our local agencies ensure that our first responders can get the emotional support they need any time they need it."

A total of about $75 million will be awarded to law enforcement agencies, dispatch centers, fire departments, and emergency medical services agencies as part of the program.

Below are agencies receiving grant funding as part of the third round of the Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention, and Resilience Program:

• Bainbridge Fire Department (Geauga County) will receive $264,436 for a comprehensive wellness, physical, and behavioral health program and for suicide prevention.
• Brunswick Division of Police (Medina County) will receive $51,200 for a comprehensive mental, emotional, and physical wellness program.
• Clearcreek Fire District (Warren County) will receive $338,452.73 to create a wellness coordinator position.
• Columbus Division of Police (Franklin County) will receive $227,486.04 to create a wellness position and to pay for overtime to cover shifts for officers who attend critical incident stress training.
• Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office will receive $190,963.36 to create a wellness office to provide peer support, to offer critical incident stress training, and to contract with a licensed clinical counselor to provide guidance to the peer support team.
• Delhi Township Fire Department (Hamilton County) will receive $31,200 for a yoga wellness program for fire and police personnel.
• Dublin Police Department (Franklin County) will receive $310,000 for annual wellness check-ups for sworn personnel and dispatchers, funding for additional mental health visits as needed, and advanced individual wellness training for personnel.
• Elyria Police Department (Lorain County) will receive $49,000 for a contract with a doctor to provide wellness training and counseling for personnel.
• Grove City Division of Police (Franklin County) will receive $104,000 to provide individualized and small group wellness checks and resilience training.
• Medina County Sheriff’s Office will receive $36,500 for annual clinician-officer wellness sessions and clinician consultation to assess individual wellness results.
• Solon Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $33,250 for a wellness app and peer support training for first responders.
• Strongsville Police Department (Cuyahoga County) will receive $15,983.95 for a 40-hour first responder resiliency and peer support training course for five officers.
• Willard Police Department (Huron County) will receive $24,712.74 for annual wellness checks for first responders, crisis trauma counseling, a wellness app, and to hire a wellness coordinator for five hours per week.