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OhioRISE Care Coordinator Supervisor Jason Headley strengthens partnerships with Monroe County mental health providers during an awareness walk. OhioRISE specializes in finding services for families in area’s without plentiful resources.
WOODSFIELD – OhioRISE got the word out about the services available in Monroe County during Mental Health Awareness Month in May. The agency strengthened its partnership with the Monroe HOPE Alliance during the fifth annual mental health awareness walk organized by the alliance. Participants assembled at Piatt Park to show unity in a reminder that people are not in the fight alone.
Jefferson County Educational Service Center (JCESC) OhioRISE is a Medicaid managed care program for children and youth with complex behavioral health and multisystem needs in Monroe, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, Stark and Tuscarawas Counties and operated by the Jefferson County Educational Service Center. OhioRISE was formed to coordinate resources and put families in touch with what is available.
Care Coordinator Supervisor Jason Headley was OhioRISE’s person on the ground during the walk of solidarity.
The service and first responder community turned out with information about help out there for anyone fighting those battles. Agencies such as the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Hope Grows Here, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Mobile Response and Stabilization Services and the Ohio University Extension Office were all represented along with OhioRISE.
“It was just great to come together with everybody,” Headley said. “It’s great to know what is available and what we can do to help our families and our communities.”
Headley noted these initiatives provide an invaluable opportunity for OhioRISE, since one of the program’s greatest strengths is the network of connections of its care coordinators.
“It was a great networking event,” Headley said. “I was there as a participant in the walk and to meet some people. Some great connections were there.”
OhioRISE’s care coordinators are drawn from the areas they serve and are intimately knowledgeable about residents’ needs and the array of services on offer. Many times, OhioRISE care coordinators have put their families in touch with resources they had not been aware of.
OhioRISE care coordinators also know about the importance of mental health services. When someone is struggling with issues of mental health, it impacts the entire family and Headley said the program is there for them.
“We make the connections families need. That’s our job as a care coordinator. We work with the families. We find out what they need, we find out what’s missing, and we do our best to find those resources for the families both with the organizations that we currently work with, and the new ones that come about or we learn about.”
Headley added OhioRISE is active in Monroe County, with five or six coordinators in the area.
“We’re doing our best. Monroe County is not the most resource rich county in Ohio, so it’s very important to make new connections and find new services,” Headley said. The care coordinators are always looking forward and taking every opportunity to build new partnerships.
“It’s all about helping our families. It’s all about helping our communities.”
Those partnerships are expanding, with Headley also working more closely with the HOPE Alliance in their outreach. He expects this will mean an increased reach for OhioRISE and more connections.
“Any chance we get to present our program to other agencies, any chance we get to network with other agencies and come together with other agencies, it’s all about awareness. It’s about making everybody else aware of our programs, it’s making us aware of their programs and working together,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to getting more involved, getting more knowledge of what’s happening in Monroe County.”
To learn more about OhioRISE, call 740-792-4011, email ohiorise.info@jcesc.org or visit OhioRISE online at https://www.jcesc.k12.oh.us/CareManagementEntity.aspx.
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