Service to aid youth's mental health to expand across Ohio
DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the expansion of an initiative helping youth and young adults deal with distress.
On Monday, the governor announced that Mobile Response and Stabilization Services, or MRSS, will soon be available statewide. The MRSS teams are deployed to help people 20 and younger who are experiencing mental, emotional, or behavioral crises.
Out of the 88 counties in Ohio, more than 50 currently have access to MRSS teams. That's about to change, meaning even more people will get support during a crisis.
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'The expansion of MRSS is another way our state is investing in the mental health and well-being of our children, making sure we're giving every young Ohioan the opportunity to reach their full God-given potential,' DeWine said.
By mid-summer, MRSS will be available to every Ohioan under 21 in the middle of a crisis. During a crisis, anyone can call 988 and a response team will come within 60 minutes to de-escalate the situation. This comes at no cost to the young person's family.
'MRSS provides exactly the kind of help and support a child in crisis needs,' DeWine said. 'It also reduces strain on other emergency services that may not even be appropriate in this kind of situation.'
Teams include social workers, peer support, and other trained professionals who work with the young person and their family.
Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Director LeeAnne Cornyn said, 'Working directly with the family to kind of model those de-escalation techniques and make sure that we're engaging that young person in that family in a holistic safety plan so that they know exactly where to go, who to go to, when to go.'
The announcement took place at Hopewell Elementary School in Dublin, where earlier this year, a teacher called 988 and got an MRSS team to the school when a student was having a behavioral crisis.
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Hopewell principal Susann Wittig said the student and their family are receiving ongoing care.
'Today, I'm happy to share that our student is thriving,' Wittig said. 'They are learning, growing and fully engaged in the classroom each day. Their family also reported that they've seen tremendous growth.'
Cornyn said it's up to the young person and whoever is with them to decide whether the situation is a crisis. She said people can request a response team or a 988 operator will dispatch a team depending on the situation.
'We have truly set the bar very high, but that is because our children deserve it,' Cornyn said.
Ohio is being split into 18 regions to make sure a MRSS team is able to respond within an hour.
DeWine said the service will be statewide by July 1.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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