(From Hancock County ADAMHS)
Impact of Termination of Federal SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Grants to Hancock County Behavioral Health Services:
Without any advance notice, on January 13, 2026, Hancock County ADAMHS received notification from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of immediate termination of three federal grants.
These grants support the workforce and essential services they provide through Family Resource Center, FOCUS Recovery and Wellness Center, and The City Mission as well as program evaluation, research and training support from Brandeis University and Case Western Reserve University.
This funding termination comes after just one quarter of the federal fiscal year. The financial impact to Hancock County is a loss of approximately $1.5M for the remaining 9 months (through September 2026).
With such a significant amount of funding loss, the current level and accessibility of services will be significantly impacted.
Local agency impacts include:
- Family Resource Center will see the largest decrease in funding, with a loss of approximately $600,000 for services to children, youth and families in need of behavioral health care.
- The City Mission will see a loss of approximately $270,000 for Project HOME: Low Barrier Shelter, which provides emergency overnight shelter to unhoused individuals. Funds to support onsite mental health support provided by Family Resource Center were also terminated. An additional $1.5M is lost over the entire Project HOME grant period that was initially awarded through Sept 29, 2029. To prevent closure of the low barrier shelter, funding from the community will be required.
- FOCUS Recovery & Wellness Center will see a reduction of approximately $189,000. This level of reduction will disrupt, dismantle and reduce the existing level of services.
Directors from affected agencies share a collective call asking the community to do what is possible to maintain as many of these services as possible until alternative funding can be secured.
Hancock County prides itself on the continuum of care available for individuals and their families who struggle with mental health and/or substance use. The services are often interconnected, offering a coordinated and comprehensive approach to care for some of our most vulnerable community members. With a severe disruption in continuity of care – from providing a safe place to sleep at night, to offering services to children, youth, and families, as well as peer support to people working on and managing their recovery, everyone now has increased vulnerability; risk of increased used of the emergency department, and increased involvement with the criminal justice system (jails), should appropriate interventions not be available.
The immediate termination allowed no time to prepare individuals receiving services or to the professionals who deliver services who are potentially impacted by the cuts. This is a disservice to all involved, especially to those in need of life-saving services.
ADAMHS is actively engaging with legislators at all levels of government – particularly at the federal level – to determine what remedies are possible to maintain funding and services.
This will have a profound impact on everyone engaged in the behavioral health system – not just clients, but staff who deliver services, and agency administrators who ensure that agencies are able to remain open to deliver any services.
The community is asked to provide grace and support for all those impacted. As more details become available they will be shared with the community.
Hancock County is not alone. Cuts are being made across the country to the tune of nearly 2 billion dollars in grants that support addiction and mental health services.
Impact Statement: Project HOME & Low Barrier Shelter
At 8:02 PM January 13th, we were notified that Project HOME was abruptly terminated at the federal level. With no warning or transition period, the major funding source for the City Mission of Findlay’s Low Barrier Shelter and support for crisis services was eliminated.
This decision has immediate and serious consequences for our community.
The Low Barrier Shelter was never just a place to sleep. It was a stabilization point, an engagement doorway, and—for many—the first place in years where they felt safe enough to accept help. It functioned on trust, consistency, and relationship.
Through the Low Barrier Shelter, 5,315 nights of safe lodging were provided. More than 60 individuals entered City Mission’s ReSTART Program directly from the shelter. Through the program, 15 individuals a month were transitioned to higher levels of care, including permanent housing, and 53 were referred to mental health and substance use treatment, exceeding engagement goals. On-site mental health services, made possible through our partnership with Family Resource Center, allowed guests in crisis to access care immediately.
One guest entered the shelter after years of cycling between the streets, emergency rooms, and incarceration—distrustful, untreated, and actively using. Because staff knew him by name, showed up consistently, and removed barriers to care, he eventually agreed to treatment for the first time. His progress was not the result of a single service, but of a system built on relationship and trust.
That is what the Low Barrier Shelter made possible.
While the termination of Project HOME does not erase these outcomes, it does remove a proven intervention at a time when housing options remain critically limited and the need for low-barrier engagement is greater than ever.
We want to be clear: we do not intend to close the Low Barrier Shelter. We believe deeply in this work. However, without this funding, we cannot sustain it alone. To keep these doors open, we urgently need community support through funding, partnership, and advocacy—so our most vulnerable neighbors are not left without a place to stabilize and begin moving forward.
— Tyler Layton Program Director, City Mission of Findlay Project Director, Project HOME