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Local News

Friday, March 14, 2008

Mental health agency to build housing

Findlay Inn & Conference Center -Downtown Findlay
By MICHELLE REITER

STAFF WRITER

A $1.2 million project to build housing on Findlay's East Melrose Avenue for adults with mental illness and substance abuse problems is slated to begin this year.

It's a project the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services board has been planning for about two years.

The apartment complex will house people, many of whom are already living in the community, who suffer from mental illnesses. Precia Stuby, director of the mental health services board, said mental illnesses are often linked with substance abuse.

These people often have trouble finding housing, she said, and some are homeless.

The apartment complex, which will be constructed on a lot where North Blanchard Street dead-ends at East Melrose Avenue, will provide 15 efficiency apartments for residents and a one-bedroom apartment for the live-in property manager.

Residents will live in the building with the full support of Century Health and other community services, and all are to be employed, Stuby said.

While the plan for the apartment complex has been established, funding the project will be a challenge, Stuby said.

The mental health services board has already spent $36,000 from board reserves to buy the land, Stuby said Thursday, and received a $5,851 donation back from the company that sold the property, KVA & Associates.

The board received $679,000 from the Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation that must be paid back, and a $400,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Mental Health.

Stuby said she doesn't yet know exactly how much the project will cost.

"The $1.2 million figure is based on what I think I can raise," Stuby said.

Stuby said she wants no mortgages and is seeking all the grants she can to help pay for the building.

Stuby sought financial help Thursday from the Hancock County Revolving Loan Fund Committee, in order to install 750 feet of sewer line to the property.

The revolving loan fund is money that can be loaned to businesses for projects or expansion. If the money is paid back, it can be loaned to other businesses. Grants can also be made from the fund.

Stuby asked the committee for a grant for the sewer extension, but the committee approved a $75,000 loan, interest-free, for two years.

In two years, the committee said, the mental health services board could come back and renegotiate the loan, if it's still needed, or ask for it to be turned into a grant.

The Revolving Loan Fund Committee normally awards grants to projects that create jobs, and the housing project will only create one: a full-time property manager.

Also, committee member and County Commissioner Ed Ingold said grants are made sparingly because grant money depletes the fund without any ready way to replenish it.

But Stuby said the project will add to stable employment in Findlay.

"The most critical thing in anyone's recovery is housing," Stuby said. "If you don't have a place to sleep at night, you don't go to work and you don't make a stable employee.

"We're talking about 15 residents who will be employed in this community."

Stuby hopes to accept bids on the project in April, and have residents moved in by early 2009.

Contact Staff Writer Michelle Reiter at:

(419) 427-8497

Send an e-mail to Michelle Reiter
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1 Comment

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Monday, July 21, 2008 8:08:18 AM
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Terry Carson, a visiting executive at the University of Findlay, will give a public lecture on health care at noon Monday at Winebrenner Theological Seminary.

Carson will speak on, “Health Care: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?”

Carson is chief executive officer of a 25-bed critical access facility, Harrison Community Hospital in Cadiz, Ohio, a position he has held for 18 years. Before that he was administrator of Hialeah Hospital in Hialeah, Fla., Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield, N.C., Colleton Regional Hospital in Walterboro, S.C., and chief accountant of Suburban Community Hospital in Warrensville Heights, Ohio.

Carson is a graduate of the University of Findlay with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He completed graduate studies at Wheeling Jesuit University and the University of Miami.

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CAREY -- The Wyandot County Health Department will be administering H1N1 flu vaccine in the Laird Room at Carey School from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Vaccine will be available to health care providers, pregnant women, children 6 months to 24 years, caregivers of children under the age of 6 months, and people age 25 to 64 with a chronic medical condition.

The vaccine is being provided on a first-come, first-served basis and is free of charge.

For more details call the health department at 419-294-3852.

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The Hancock County Democratic Party will hold its last 2009 general meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in Findlay City Council chambers in the Municipal Building.

Members will name a temporary successor to Jim Smith, a Hancock County Board of Elections member who will retire at the end of the year.

An election to fill the post for a full term will be held at the Feb. 8, 2010 general meeting. Democrats interested in the post should attend that meeting.

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The same program will be offered at each time in the Discovery Center at Oakwoods Nature Preserve.

The program will include a story, activities and a craft.

The event is for toddlers 3 years old and under, accompanied by an adult.

For more information, call the park district office, 419-425-7275.