TOLEDO, Ohio — Over the last 50 years, Rescue Mental Health and Addiction Services, on Collingwood Blvd. has been there to serve the community.
The facility and the services it provides are now in jeopardy, however, after the Lucas County Mental Health Recovery Services Board announced that it would no longer provide funding to the organization.
Now, employees and community members are pushing to keep the doors open, saying the services Rescue offers are essential to the greater Toledo community.
"We fill the gaps, and we have always done that. We get calls all hours of the day and night from people needing help," said Betsey Kastner, a social worker at Rescue and Executive Delegate for the Service Employees International Union.
The organization says it received notice from the Mental Health Recovery Services Board, that their funding for essential services could be pulled as early as June 30.
"While we are able to bill, some of the services we provide are to the members of the community who have absolutely no insurance whatsoever. So they don't have an ability to pay." said Kastner. "The Mental Health Recovery Services Board has always provided the funding so that we can meet their needs".
Crisis services will continue to be offered after June 30, according to a statement from The Mental Health Recovery Services Board.
The statement goes on to say that "we intend for Rescue's current employees to be an integral part of future plans. Actions are already underway and plans will be announced to the community as they are finalized."
Rescue employees, however, say that their mission has always been to help and that that can't happen if their doors are shut.
"The services we do are important. The people who work here, are important. The clients that we serve are important. The community that we seek to serve is important and we all work together to try and get this done to help those who need it," said Hunter Turner, a mental health technician at Rescue.
RELATED: New trauma center specializing in addiction offers holistic approach to recovery in northwest Ohio
The Mental Health Recovery Services Board says it's offered Rescue multiple extensions and negotiations and that none were agreed to. They also say discussions about a 90-day extension are still on the table.
The full statement from the Board is below:
"Please rest assured that crisis services will continue to be available after June 30, 2021, that will meet the needs of our community. We intend for Rescue’s current employees to be an integral part of future plans. Actions are already underway and plans will be announced to the community as they are finalized.
The Board is aware of the protest being planned for Saturday morning concerning crisis care services in Lucas County. We join Rescue’s staff in their extreme disappointment with Rescue’s recent announcement of its impending closure.
The Board did everything in its power to prevent the situation which exists today.
On multiple occasions, Rescue was offered a six-month contract extension to ensure our current crisis care system continued to operate while good-faith negotiations, and the lawsuit they filed, continued.
Rescue chose to close instead.
Rescue was also offered a three-month contract extension to facilitate a smooth transition of services to an alternative vendor.
Rescue chose to close instead.
Rescue was offered the opportunity to meet with the Board and a mediator to resolve this situation.
Rescue chose to close instead.
The Board believes that there are questions that should be directed to Rescue’s leadership:
- What is motivating these destructive actions?
- What severance packages will Rescue’s Executive Leadership Team receive when Rescue closes?
- Why did Rescue employees learn for the first time from The Blade that Rescue was closing instead of hearing directly from Rescue’s leadership?
- Why is Rescue’s leadership refusing the Board’s contract extension offers?
- Why won’t Rescue’s Board of Trustees intervene on behalf of their employees and the clients they serve?
The Board remains open to discussions with Rescue about a 90-day extension.
Rescue’s actions stand in contrast to the Board’s actions, which have been to facilitate a thoughtful, deliberative, collaborative approach to developing a best-in-class crisis care system in Lucas County. It included all key community stakeholders, including Rescue.
The system developed from that process was detailed in a report issued in December 2019. The RFP was issued in November 2020. Rescue answered the RFP in January 2021, but Rescue filed a lawsuit against the Board and the Court ordered us to halt the process.
Instead of working with the Board, in accordance with the CPES committee’s recommendations and vision for the future, Rescue announced it was closing with one month’s notice. The closure hurts both Rescue’s employees and the community. The Board believes that our crisis care system is a vital part of our community. Every action we have taken has reflected that belief. The same cannot be said for Rescue’s leadership."
RELATED: