T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County Mental Health & Recovery Board member Caitlyn Romshak speaks on the importance of the renewal levy being passed on Nov. 4.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County Board of Commissioners voiced support Wednesday for the Belmont County Mental Health & Recovery Board Renewal Levy that will be on the Nov. 4 ballot.

During the board’s Wednesday morning meeting, Commissioner J.P. Dutton said that the 1.25 mill renewal levy will not raise taxes and that mental health resources are incredibly crucial to the community.

Commissioner Vince Gianangeli added that virtually everybody has been affected by suicide.

He added that when he was growing up in Bellaire during the 1960s and 1970s, mental health wasn’t talked about. He added that if someone was experiencing a mental health crisis it was kept secret.

“But today, you hear about it every day. I mean, it’s talked about on every street corner,” Gianangeli said. “As history shows, renewal levies almost always pass.”

Belmont County Mental Health & Recovery Board member Caitlyn Romshak said that the renewal levy will not be taking in additional funds, but the funding it currently receives is desperately needed for the residents in Belmont, Harrison, and Monroe counties.

“I would be so bold to say that everyone in this room at some point or another, has dealt with mental health or has had to address things that stem from mental health, such as addiction, etc.,” Romshak said. “One in four people will experience mental illness in their lifetime. That’s an incredible statistic, and I would imagine in the next few years that could very well go up.”

She added that the levy allows the board to intervene and support the residents experiencing mental health or addiction so that they don’t have to go through it alone.

She added that the board provides 24/7 coverage for crisis calls, mobile response, and youth programs.

“Nestled in Appalachia, we share the cost of multiple children served by other organizations such as children services, the Board of Developmental Disabilities and the Juvenile Court systems,” Romshak said. “We provide prevention and school-based behavioral health services to younger people all throughout Belmont County schools. We continue to have available health services on site at the Belmont County Jail.”

Dutton applauded the board’s work with Belmont County Jail.

He added that before the collaboration, individuals having a mental health crisis in the jail didn’t have any resources due to the jail not having a licensed individual to help them.

“It’s well documented that county jails have become, frankly, mental health facilities, because law enforcement really have nowhere else to take those individuals. So they end up at the county jail,” Dutton said. “That’s just one of a number of things in just the last few years that your board is doing.”

Romshak added that the board also provides suicide prevention education.

“There a 4% increase in deaths by completed suicides from 2023 to 2024, the unfortunate reality is that 2025 is looking like that percent will rise,” she said. “It is imperative that we have this infrastructure in place and the levies to support it. Lastly, with the expanding crisis of suicide and addiction. It’s a domino effect, and what the levy does is it supports and allows us to build a stronger local network.”