COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday that an additional $20 million will be dedicated to supporting the recruitment and wellness needs of Ohio’s first responders. The Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention, and Resilience Program will now have a total of $95 million in funding, with $61 million already awarded to 237 first responder agencies.
The program was created in May 2022 to address the mental, physical, and emotional health issues unique to first responders, as well as to support recruitment and retention efforts. The program also aims to ease the workload on current staff by funding new hires.
Out of the $95 million, $11.9 million for 29 agencies was announced on Tuesday as part of the grant program’s sixth round. The remaining $34 million in grant awards will be announced in the coming months.
The Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention, and Resilience Program are funded as part of the $250 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that Ohio dedicated to first responders to help counter various pressing issues exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor DeWine has also created the Ohio Office of First Responder Wellness within the Ohio Department of Public Safety, which focuses exclusively on the well-being of first responders and provides specialized support and training to help emergency-response agencies proactively address post-traumatic stress and other traumas unique to first-responder careers.
