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If cost has kept you from getting help after an overdose, two counties in northeast Ohio just added capacity that does not send you a bill. Free rehabs in Ohio are one part of the safety net, and the other part is the outreach that gets people to them.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office awarded more than $2.5 million in Drug Abuse Response Team grants this fiscal year, and two of the largest awards went to agencies serving the Mahoning Valley.
The Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board received about $126,000 and the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office received nearly $145,000.
Neither award buys beds. Both pay for the people who knock on the door after an overdose and stay until someone is connected to care.
Who Qualifies for Free or Low-Cost Treatment
Drug Abuse Response Team outreach is not means-tested. The teams reach people who have survived an overdose and the families around them. No application, no income verification, no charge for the visit.
Statewide, the Attorney General’s Office funded 38 law enforcement agencies and local governments through the DART grant program, with individual awards ranging from $20,280 to $149,037, supporting activities through June 30, 2027.
The office has run the program since 2017 and supplemented $1.5 million in General Assembly funding with $1 million in settlement funds this year.
The teams pair local law enforcement with behavioral health providers and offer 24-hour assistance to overdose survivors and their families, including connections to immediate treatment, recovery services, and other resources meant to reduce the risk of another overdose.
How to Access These Resources
In Columbiana County, the mobile crisis response team started four years ago with a single full-time employee. Last year it reached 600 people.
“They go out and meet these people, whether it’s through law enforcement or hospitals,” said Lori Colian, executive director of the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board. “They meet individuals where they are, and they’re able to connect with them because they have been where these people have been.”
That last part matters. The team runs on peer support specialists, people with their own recovery experience and the grant money largely pays their wages. There are four now and the board is hiring.
“These grants are imperative because we don’t get a lot of crisis funding through allocations and funding, billable funding,” Colian said. “So, grants help pay for the mobile teams’ salaries.”
In Mahoning County, the sheriff’s office has partnered with mental health professionals for more than a decade, tracking people who have overdosed and following up.
“If we could get an individual’s life on the right track, it’s less individuals that are committing crimes and coming to our correctional facility, our jail, which is costly to taxpayers,” said Chief Deputy William Cappabianca. “So, this effort that we put forth, partnered with mental health professionals, is helping to reduce the recidivism.”
You do not need to wait for a team to find you. Local mental health and recovery boards take direct calls while hospitals and law enforcement can refer.
Payment Options Explained
Outreach connects people to treatment and treatment still has to be paid for. In Ohio, Medicaid covers substance use disorder services including outpatient counseling, intensive outpatient programs, residential treatment and medications for opioid use disorder.
If you are uninsured, county behavioral health boards administer state and federal block grant dollars that pay for care directly, which is where the free rehabs in Ohio you may have heard about actually come from.
Sliding-scale programs charge based on income, and community behavioral health centers and federally qualified health centers are the most common places to find them.
Ask specifically whether a program has state or block grant funding open, since that is often the difference between a waiting list and a same-week intake.
Finding Free Rehabs in Ohio and Low-Cost Care
These are a few practical next steps you can take to get started with recovery.
Contact your county alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health board and ask what publicly funded treatment slots are open now Check whether you qualify for Ohio Medicaid, which covers addiction treatment for eligible adults Call 211 for local social services referrals including transportation and housing help Contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free, confidential treatment referral, available 24 hours a day
Rehabs.org lists free, low-cost and publicly funded treatment options nationwide, and you can filter listings by payment type accepted, including Medicaid, sliding scale and no-cost programs. Call
800-914-7089
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to speak with a treatment advisor today.
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