Mental Health Center Receives $2 Million for Expansion and Capital Improvements

Funds awarded through Federal Omnibus Spending Bill

AKRON, January 3, 2023 – Red Oak Behavioral Health has been awarded a federal capital grant of $2,000,000 as part of the FY 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill approved by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Biden on December 23, 2022. Championed by both Senator Sherrod Brown and Congressman Tim Ryan, the Red Oak project was one of only fifteen community projects to receive funding in Northeast Ohio.

“I am proud of this bill,” said Appropriations Committee Chair and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Chair Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. “The over 7,200 community projects we included will help meet pressing needs in communities all over the nation. This bill furthers our commitment to increasing investments that impact the lives of people everywhere.”

Funding will be used to upgrade and expand Red Oak’s Akron facility to make it more trauma-informed and accessible for clients and consumers, allow for provision of integrated physical healthcare services, create a training center for use by nonprofit professionals, and expand the Agency’s capacity to serve more children and families in the surrounding community.

“At a time when the need for behavioral health services has nearly doubled nationwide, this project will have a profound and lasting impact on Red Oak’s ability to add additional staff and transform more lives in the community,” said President and CEO, Megan Kleidon.

Prior to the pandemic, Red Oak provided mental health services including mentoring, prevention and education, therapy, case management and psychiatry to 4,500 children, adults, and families annually in Summit and its surrounding counties. In 2022, Red Oak served over 9,200 children and families both onsite at its Highland Square location and within 99 buildings across its 20 partner school districts.

About Red Oak:
Red Oak Behavioral Health is a 501(c)3 community mental health center with a mission to change lives by partnering with the community and those in need of behavioral health services. With staff embedded in nearly one hundred school buildings across twenty districts and four counties, and an outpatient center located in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood, Red Oak’s vision is behavioral healthcare that meets you where you are.

Visit redoakbh.org or call 330-996-4600 for more information.

CONTACT: 
Jaclyn Flossie
Director of Development & Marketing
Email Jaclyn
440-813-6355