Governor DeWine Increases Wellness Support for
Ohio's First Responders by $20 Million
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced today that an additional $20 million will be dedicated to supporting the recruitment and wellness needs of Ohio's first responders.
Today's announcement brings the total amount of funding for the Ohio First Responder Recruitment, Retention, and Resilience Program to $95 million. Governor DeWine created the program in May 2022 to support the wellness needs of law enforcement officers, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).
"When it comes to public safety, we don't want our police officers, firefighters, and medics to be overworked and exhausted when they're responding to emergencies," said Governor DeWine. "Through this program, we're not only helping local first responders get support for their mental wellbeing, but we're also helping to ease the workload on current staff by funding new hires."
Out of the $95 million, a total of $61 million has been awarded to 237 first responder agencies to date. This total includes $11.9 million for 29 agencies announced today as part of the grant program's sixth round. Grant awards for the remaining $34 million will be announced in the coming months.
Photo: Getty Images
The Crestline Police Department (Crawford County) will receive $153,237.68 to hire two full-time dispatchers for two years with sign-on bonuses.