Sen. Brown seeks input from local mental health professionals

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio — Local mental health professionals were given the opportunity to meet with Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown to discuss the needs they see within the community to break the stigma around mental health.

The Ohio Valley has seen a worsening of mental health and an increase in drug use since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brown invited local mental health professional organizations to a roundtable discussion to find out firsthand what they need to continue helping patients.

“Local communities know more about their needs than I do,” Brown said. “The mayor, the county commissioner, the local nurse or a local teacher. So, I invite them to these roundtables and they tell me what they need and it’s up to me to carry those things back and try to help.”

Two areas that were heavily discussed were the need for more workers within the profession and additional funding.

“It’s always a question of getting dollars to local communities,” Brown said.

“We get those dollars out the door and these communities will use them, well, because they know what they need.”

Smaller cities and rural areas were the main spotlight of the discussion.

“I think that often times we tend to get overlooked,” Shannan Watson, executive director of Crossroads Counseling Services, said. “Columbus and the bigger areas really tend to get the bulk of the funding. To have the opportunity to sit and discuss additional funding sources and effect change and hopefully start seeing those changes come to our area. It was just a really great conversation.”

The needs of talking about mental health and the patients were also discussed.

“Anytime we get the opportunity to talk about mental health and really bring it to the forefront and keep it in people's minds and to enable that conversation that might not happen if we’re not having events like this,” Watson said. “It’s huge for encouraging people to get into treatment and finally get the help that they need.”