Members of the Warren County Board of Supervisors were honored Thursday, May 9 to receive the Dorothea Dix Community Service Award from Ascend Mental Wellness for dedicating nearly $1.1 million to local mental health care improvements.
The award honored the board for the allocation of money from Warren County's share of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to nine different initiatives, including expansion of Glens Falls Hospital's Crisis Unit, funding of new staff for WAIT House and Ascend Mental Wellness, expansion of employee assistance programs and more.
“The Warren County Board of Supervisors is honored to receive the Dorothea Dix Award for Community Service from Ascend Mental Wellness. The need for improved mental health care in Warren County was a constant theme throughout the discussions of how to allocate Warren County’s share of American Rescue Plan Act funding, and we are already seeing that this funding is making a difference in the community through a variety of programs being offered by our partners around Warren County. We know this money will not solve every problem within our mental health care system, but we are gratified to see that it is helping,” said Kevin Geraghty, Chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors.
An advisory committee created by the Board of Supervisors to help appropriate ARPA funding recommended that the board dedicate resources to mental health programs, and Warren County Office of Community Services vetted applications before choosing where to allocate the $1.1 million that was put aside. Full details on use of the funding can be found here.
Supervisors Ben Driscoll and Nancy Turner from Glens Falls, Debra Runyon from Thurman and Nathan Etu from Queensbury received the award at Ascend's annual Community Awards function, which was held at Cool Insuring Arena's Heritage Hall. Warren County Administrator John Taflan and Robert York, Warren County Director of Community Services, attended as well.
Andrea Deepe, Executive Director of Ascend (which was formally known as Warren-Washington Association for Mental Health), thanked supervisors for their decision to fund enhanced mental health assistance, which she explained has had a significant impact in the community.
WAIT House, which provides assistance such as housing and services for homeless youth, received the Walter P. Reichert Award from Ascend Mental Wellness, which recognizes an individual, group or agency within the local mental health community that has significantly contributed to the promotion, development and/or betterment of mental health within Warren and Washington counties.