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If awarded, a grant totaling approximately $3 million could not only fund the city of Warsaw’s Community Assistance, Resources and Emergency Services (CARES) program for the next five years, it could also expand CARES into the county.
Warsaw Police Department Capt. Joel Beam presented the request from the WPD to the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety to apply for a grant through the Make Indiana Healthy Again, in cooperation with the Rural Health Transformation Program.
“This program’s goal is to increase Hoosiers’ health and also for their preventative health and behavioral health as well,” Beam said. “This grant, if awarded, will cover our CARES program for the next five years and expand it into the county.”
He thanked Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith for being at the Board of Works meeting and just for the possibility of “expanding this wonderful program.”
The grant, if awarded, is $600,000 a year for the next five years. It is 100% reimbursable and no matching funds are required. Beam asked permission from the Board of Works to apply for the grant.
Councilwoman Diane Quance asked Beam to talk a little more about how the grant would be used and asked Smith to talk about how the county might be involved.
“So we have been wanting to expand it to the county. Right now, we’ve only been doing Warsaw-Wayne (Township), and the county’s in desperate, desperate need for CARES services,” Beam said.
Mayor Jeff Grose pointed out CARES Community Resource Specialist Mikaela Bixler and Resource Navigator Tonya Jackson were present at the meeting.
“They’ve done an excellent job, for years, and I think that’s why we’re here today and I really believe that’s why you’re standing here today, connected to why this grant is so attractive for the county,” Grose said to Smith.
Smith told the Board of Works, “I can’t speak enough positive things about this program. I tell people all the time about former Mayor Joe Thallemer and his staff at the time had the perfect vision for what this program was. There were no strings attached. It was a service that was simply needed for our community. That’s exactly what it is. The ladies that are in this program now have knocked it out of the park, as far as I’m concerned.”
Mental illness is more prevalent now than probably ever, as most people probably know, he stated.
“So there certainly is a need. It doesn’t surprise me that this grant is available because it recognizes the need,” Smith said.
When one talks about addiction, he pointed out that 90 to 95% of the jail population are in there because of a crime related to addiction.
“What comes with this? Direct correlation to mental illness,” Smith said. “So those folks that aren’t in jail, they’re out in the community. These ladies do a remarkable job filling those needs and those resources and doing follow-ups and that sort of thing. Since I have an opportunity to be able to expand that into the county, it’s unbelievable. So, I couldn’t get here quick enough to be able to express my support, welcome any questions that may come along with it.”
If the grant goes through and is awarded, Smith said he will do his due diligence in talking with the Kosciusko County Council and Commissioners “on securing the personnel that’s needed on our end to expand this service.”
He said some logistics needed to obviously be finalized, but he couldn’t be more excited about it.
Lisa Harman, president and CEO at Live Well Kosciusko, said she’s been serving on the regional coalition for Make Indiana Healthy Again “and when I saw that there was opportunity for the CARES program, which is something I’ve supported from the very beginning, I was like, ‘OK, let’s see what we can do.’”
She stated she was very supportive of the grant application and happy about the fact that real dollars could be coming back to the local community.
“It’s not at all related to property taxes, there’s no match required from the community. So, in my opinion, it’s kind of like a win-win and I would love to see it expanded out into the county and continue for the next five years,” Harman concluded.
Grose said for this grant, “You have to expand the program in order to get the grant, which I will tell you, back to what the sheriff has said, former Mayor Thallemer and myself, not only what we’re doing now in our jurisdiction because of what we’ve seen, but how could we grow it for the entire county? And that’s what this grant would allow us to do. You have to be expanding or growing, correct?”
Harman said that was correct, the grant is for a new or expanding program. She said the state loves mobile integrated health programs. “They have a lot of ROI (return on investment) and they are evidence-based, and, so, (I’m) pretty confident that the state is going to love our proposal,” she said.
Board member George Clemens said, “Once again, the cooperation between city and the county, the sheriff’s department, Warsaw Police Department. All this fits in. A great opportunity to receive a large amount of grant money.”
Quance said it was exciting to look at expanding the CARES program.
“I know you guys are already crossing lines a little bit at times to provide assistance in the county, so I would just love to see more of you because we don’t pay you enough and you put in a lot of hours, and you just can’t clock out on someone who is in a crisis. So, to have more support for you two and expanding this I think would be a wonderful opportunity,” Quance told Bixler and Jackson.
She then made a motion to give WPD permission to apply for the grant, Clemens seconded the motion and it passed 3-0.
