ONEOHIO RECOVERY FOUNDATION AWARDS $1.86 MILLION FOR 14 LOCAL PROJECTS TO ADVANCE PREVENTION, TREATMENT AND RECOVERY IN REGION 7
COLUMBUS, OH – Fourteen projects aimed at saving lives, preventing addiction, expanding access to treatment, supporting recovery, and strengthening community resilience in Trumbull and Mahoning counties have been awarded a combined total of $1.86 million through the OneOhio Recovery Foundation's Regional Grant Cycle 2. The 14 awards support locally driven, evidence-informed work that responds to the local impacts of substance use disorder and co-occurring mental health conditions, putting opioid settlement dollars to work where they can make a meaningful difference.
Ohio's opioid settlement dollars are most powerful when they reach the organizations and communities closest to the work of substance abuse prevention, said Alisha Nelson, Executive Director of the OneOhio Recovery Foundation.
"These grant investments represent OneOhio's commitment to turning settlement dollars into crucial services that save lives, prevent addiction, and support lasting recovery,” Nelson said. “We are proud to work collaboratively with local organizations and regional leaders in Mahoning and Trumbull counties who focus on strengthening their communities’ safe initiatives for long-term success."
“Communities know their own needs, and these new awards reflect the priorities identified by local partners across Region 7,” said April Caraway, OneOhio Region 7 Board Chairperson. “These projects will benefit Trumbull and Mahoning Counties and help provide prevention, intervention and recovery services. We are very thankful for the OneOhio Recovery Foundation dollars that will remove barriers to treatment, promote sustainable local prevention strategies, and help people maintain their sobriety.”
Regional Grant Cycle 2 makes approximately $45 million available across the state. Project funding directly serves people with substance use disorder, including those with co-occurring mental health conditions, as well as family members affected by substance use disorder, according to purposes approved by the OneOhio Memorandum of Understanding.
Region 7 Grant Awards
Coleman Professional Services, Inc.: $250,000 to support Fostering SUD Recovery with Crisis and Housing Services in the Mahoning Valley, which will expand their Behavioral Health Crisis Center as a 24/7 walk-in crisis facility.
Lit Youngstown: $25,000 to support Next Chapter: A Low-Pressure Writing Group for People in Recovery, which will offer a writing group designed for people in recovery, offering a supportive space to reflect, write, and reconnect with their voices.
Mahoning County Public Health: $45,000 to support Overdose Prevention through Enhanced Naloxone Public Distribution, which will reduce fatal drug overdoses by expanding anonymous access to naloxone and fentanyl test strips through publicly available "Barney" Naloxone Stand.
Mahoning Valley Manufacturers Coalition, Inc.: $188,000 to support Recovery-Ready Employers: Building Manufacturing Workplaces That Support Substance Use Recovery, which will strengthen recovery-ready manufacturing workplaces by educating employers on substance use disorder, reducing stigma, and embedding recovery-supportive practices while expanding employment access and retention for individuals impacted by substance use disorder and justice involvement.
Meridian HealthCare: $137,000 to support Meridian’s Re-Work: Building Skills, Stability and Success Program, which will strengthen recovery capital by positioning sustainable employment as central to long-term recovery.
Ohio Recovery Housing: $56,750 to support Pathways in Practice: Turning Recovery Housing into Recovery Action, which will equip recovery housing operators in Trumbull and Mahoning counties, located in OneOhio Region 7, with practical, easy-to-use tools that support individualized recovery planning for residents.
Prevention Works Mahoning County, Inc.: $38,000 to support Equipping Emerging Healthcare Providers to Improve Patient Outcomes, which over the course of twenty-four (24) months, will educate emerging healthcare professionals in forty-eight (48) hours of didactic and experiential learning about substance use disorder, mental health, and tenets of Prevention and Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care in order to improve outcomes for patients and their loved ones.
Recovery Benefits Corp.: $240,000 to support Operation Get Moving, which removes housing, transportation, and financial barriers that threaten early recovery by providing short-term rent support, access to transportation for treatment and re-entry obligations, and required financial literacy programming.
Small Steps Recovery Housing: $69,250 to support Transportation into SmallSteps, which will help the organization acquire a reliable vehicle to eliminate transportation barriers for residents.
SMART Recovery USA, Inc.: $100,018 to support Expansion of SMART Recovery’s Communities of Empowerment in Mahoning & Trumbull Counties, which will expand access to free, evidence-informed SMART Recovery supports in Mahoning and Trumbull counties by increasing facilitator capacity, launching and sustaining additional mutual-support meetings, and expanding Family & Friends education.
The Mahoning County Sheriff's Office: $215,037 to support The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office Enhanced Medication-Assisted Treatment Program, which will use this funding to supply the MCJC with a Case Manager who will be dedicated to our incarcerated individuals diagnosed with substance use disorders (SUDs).
Thrive Behavioral Health Center, Inc.: $226,602 to support Reentry Linkage & Recovery Support Services, which will promote sustained recovery and successful community reintegration by providing peer-led in-jail planning, intensive two-week post-release stabilization, and coordinated transition to ongoing community support.
Trumbull County Combined Health District: $190,000 to support Recovery and Re-Entry Non-Medicaid Covered Transportation Model for Trumbull County, which will provide free non-Medicaid scheduled rides for appointments and meetings related to an individuals’ recovery/treatment support, medical appointments, and re-entry services in Trumbull County.
Youngstown Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program, Inc.: $86,000 to support YUMADAOP Prevention Program (YPP), which will prevent and reduce substance misuse in Mahoning and Trumbull counties across the lifespan of the grant through the implementation of evidence based substance misuse prevention activities that comprise the 6 CSAP prevention strategies (Information Dissemination, Education, Alternatives, Environmental, Community Based Process, and Problem ID & Referral).
Together, these awards will work to expand access to crucial care for Region 7 residents by implementing sustainable, safe systems to address substance misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery.
All grant awards were approved by the OneOhio Board of Directors following a robust, multi-step process designed to ensure local input, integrity, accountability, and alignment with OneOhio's approved purposes. The Foundation is working with approved organizations to complete the grant agreement process and move funding into communities across Ohio. Grants are contingent on a fully executed grant agreement.
For Regional Grant Cycle 2, applicants first submitted Funding Inquiries through the OneOhio Grant Portal. Eligible inquiries were reviewed by Regional Grant Review Committees, and selected applicants were invited to submit Technical Applications. Where applicable, submissions were reviewed by the OneOhio Expert Panel to ensure alignment with evidence and the OneOhio MOU. Successful applications were then reviewed by Foundation staff and the Grant Oversight Committee, with final funding decisions made by the Board of Directors.
Regional Grant Cycle 2 builds on the Foundation's inaugural grant cycle, which awarded more than $45 million to 245 projects statewide. That first round supported a broad mix of strategies, including youth prevention initiatives, school-based mental health supports, recovery housing, treatment expansion, post-overdose outreach, peer support, supports for children and families affected by addiction, and workforce development for the behavioral health field.
Grant recipients must submit biannual programmatic and financial reports, and the Foundation may request supplemental information or conduct site visits or virtual meetings as needed. These requirements reflect the Foundation's commitment to ensuring that every dollar is used responsibly and produces measurable and lasting impact.
A complete list of approved grant recipients can be found at OneOhioFoundation.com/GrantAwards. Additional awards may be announced as projects complete the review and approval process. Organizations interested in future funding opportunities should visit OneOhioFoundation.com/Grants and sign up for updates from the Foundation.
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