Governor Mike DeWine calls the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline a great success on its second anniversary.

DeWine says the 19 call centers in Ohio have made contact with around 340,000 people since it started on July 16th, 2022. That is an average of 14,000 phone calls, texts, or chats with people per month, and the average speed to answer a call is 25 seconds, which is better than the national average of 36 seconds. 

The Zero to Hero training prepared future volunteers to help victims of disasters in our area. These volunteers typically respond to house fires, floods, and severe winter weather, where they provide supplies and comfort to people experiencing a crisis. 

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The Home Energy Assistance Winter Crisis Program helps Ohioans at or below 175 percent of the federal poverty guidelines pay their heating bills. Ohioans who are threatened with disconnection, have been disconnected from their utility service, transferring services, establishing new services, have a PIPP default with a disconnection notice or at or below 25% fuel, may also be eligible for the HEAP Winter Crisis Program, available now and through March 31, 2023.

The Winter Crisis Program through West Ohio Community Action Partnership is underway. It's a federally funded program that assists income-eligible individuals with heating costs and furnace repairs during the winter months. WOCAP officials say there are more people in need of heating assistance this year and they are here to help.

Crime Victim Services is pleased to announce a new way for victims needing crisis support to connect with an advocate online. The secure online chat system utilizing the ResourceConnect Chat Line went live today, October 3, 2022, and is available to the public from 8am-4pm, Monday-Friday. You can access the chat by going to www.crimevictimservices.org/chat. Additionally, victims are now able to text the crisis line at 877.867.7273 during business hours.

It's better to have a plan and not need it than to need a plan and not have it. That from a national safety training specialist from Washington State. Bus drivers from all across Allen County are learning that to survive a crisis you must think, you must know what is going on around you, and how to respond if the need arises.

On Saturday, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline changed over to the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. People who are experiencing a mental health or addiction crisis can either call, text, or chat by dialing 9-8-8. One of the resources that local people are connected with is Colman Health Services. Over the first weekend, the agency got 46 calls from 9-8-8 in their 14 county service region.

The West Ohio Community Action Partnership is once again running their Summer Crisis Assistance Program. The program is mainly for those that are 60 and older or those who suffer from disabilities like COPD or lung cancer that might cause difficulty breathing in warmer environments. Families that might need assistance can receive small repairs to an existing central air unit, help to pay their bills, or they could receive a new air conditioning unit.