U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, (left) speaks with Charlie Pope, 19, of Greenville, who is a former Dayton Children’s patient. During Husted’s tour of the Dayton Children’s new Mathile Center for Mental Health and Wellness on Friday, May 15, 2026, Pope discussed how Dayton Children’s helped her during a mental health crisis she experienced a few years prior.
In a visit to the Dayton region, U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, took the opportunity to tour Dayton Children’s new Mathile Center for Mental Health and Wellness, learn about the programs, and meet a former patient who made it through her own mental health challenges with help from Dayton Children’s.
The Mathile Center, located at 860 Valley St. in Dayton on Dayton Children’s main complex, doubled the amount of space for mental health treatment at Dayton Children’s Hospital and is the culmination of years of planning, fundraising and construction.
“We know the scope of the challenges these young people face,” Husted said. “And Dayton Children’s stepped up to be the place to turn in a time of crisis.”
Michelle Mathile, a member of the Mathile Family Foundation and a representative of the Mathile family, shared how the Mathile family joined together to donate to the hospital that would eventually come to bear the family name.
“When we had the opportunity as a family to come together, it was the first time that all three generations of our family had given together, and we knew that if we wanted to give to something, this is what we wanted to give to,” Mathile said.
This was also the first time the family had allowed their name to be used in the name of the building.
“We felt it was important to break down that stigma,” Mathile said. “Mental health affects everyone.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, answers questions and talks about the importance of mental health as Debbie Feldman, outgoing president and CEO of Dayton Children’s (right) listens following a tour of Dayton Children’s Mathile Center for Mental Health and Wellness on Friday, May 15, 2026.
The $110 million, three-story facility has 48 beds, each in private rooms costing about $100,000 each with the technology and safety features in mind to protect children against self-harm.
“We want to make sure that every child in the Miami Valley, and in our country and our state, has access to mental health services that they need because children today face many more challenges than they ever have,” Husted said.
The mental health struggles exacerbated by technology
Cell phones and social media were two things Husted pointed to as to what has made growing up more challenging for children and youth of the 21st century.
“Some of them come from difficult family situations. Some of them face enormous pressures in their life, but the one thing that is making it harder than any time ever are these things,” Husted said, holding up his cell phone. “The smart phone with the algorithms that exist in these phones I think, in many cases, have been very harmful to our young people, leading to mental health crises for them and their lives.”
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As parents and families learn and adapt to the best practices for their children around cell phone and social media usage, Dr. Kelly Blankenship, associate chief of mental health at Dayton Children’s, talked about the importance of developing healthy coping skills.
“It’s a lot of depression and a lot of anxiety,” Blankenship said when Husted asked about the types of mental health struggles Dayton Children’s is seeing in youth right now.”
Pictured left to right are U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio; Charlie Pope, 19, of Greenville, who is a former Dayton Children’s patient; Charlie’s mom Tiffany Pope; Dr. Kelly Blankenship, associate chief of mental health at Dayton Children’s; and Michelle Mathile, a member of the Mathile Family Foundation and a representative of the Mathile family, during Husted’s tour of the new Mathile Center for Mental Health and Wellness on Friday, May 15, 2026.
There are a number of theories as to the causes behind these being the most prevalent mental health illnesses that children face, Blankenship said.
What children need, though, is to develop resilience when it comes to their mental health.
“They’ll have some event happen in their life, and they won’t have the coping skills they need to know how to handle it,” Blankenship said.
When children and youth need help figuring out handling the pressures they face, the Mathile Center offers inpatient and outpatient services, as well as helps families find resources and providers in their communities.
An advocate for youth mental health
One of Dayton Children’s former patients to its behavioral health crisis center, Charlie Pope, 19, and her mother, Tiffany Pope, had the opportunity to share their story with Husted.
“For me, I was in an intense depressive episode,” Charlie Pope said about what first brought her to the crisis center. Stressors in her life made her feel like she was drowning in them, she said.
“Being able to be in an inpatient facility where everything could just slow down and I could speak to professionals … I didn’t have to focus anything around school work or social aspects.”
Surrounded by professionals and away from phones and social pressure, Charlie Pope learned coping mechanisms and got the knowledge, support, and health plan she needed to not only help herself, but also become and advocate for youth mental health. In 2023, she traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak with lawmakers about her journey and the mental crisis young people are facing.
To other young people who may be in the midst of their own struggles, Charlie Pope said they weren’t alone and said it was okay to seek help.
“Communication is key. You’re not struggling alone,” she said. “…Everyone goes through their own unique and personal struggles that can be helped, and the first step to that is talking to someone.”