Mental Health Board asks for levy renewal in November

LIMA — The Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize and Hardin Counties is asking voters to renew a 0.5-mill levy for 10 years.

The levy, which will return to voters in November, raises $1 million a year for the Mental Health Board.

Voters first adopted the levy in 1985, one of two levies the Mental Health Board relies on to supplement state and federal funding.

The levies account for 44% of the agency’s $12 million budget, providing more flexible resources the board deploys toward projects not covered by grant funding, Executive Director Tammie Colon said.

“By the time state and federal government oftentimes recognize we have a situation on our hands, we’re about two or three years into it,” Colon said, “but we can see it locally, and we can respond a lot faster with that [levy] financial support.”

Local levy dollars are helping finance an expansion at Coleman Health Service’s crisis stabilization unit on Main Street, which is adding 10 residential beds for residents who need longer-term care after they are discharged from the hospital.

The levies also support the Mental Health Board’s treatment fund, which covers expenses for uninsured or under-insured residents seeking behavioral health treatment, including services not covered by insurance.

“[Insurance] will pay for you to go to therapy. It’ll pay for your doctor and they’ll pay for your prescription, but if you need any type of support services around that — a stay at the crisis stabilization unit, case management assistance, getting work or assistance with housing, a supportive living environment — it doesn’t pay for any of that,” Colon said.

Voters renewed a separate levy for the Mental Health Board last November.