‘Meet kids and families where they are’: Red Oak helps people with mental health struggles

Kids don’t have to go far to receive help from Red Oak Behavioral Health. The Akron agency goes to them.

“Red Oak is a nonprofit mental health provider,” explained Megan Kleidon, chief executive officer and president, who has led the group since 2018. “We serve children and families across the Greater Akron area and we provide a continuum of care and service that are designed to meet kids and families where they are.”

Red Oak Behavioral Health is one of 36 organizations receiving a total of $61,000 in grants this year through the Millennium Fund for Children, a partnership of the Akron Beacon Journal and the Akron Community Foundation. Since the Millennium Fund launched in 1999, it has distributed more than $1 million in grants to local groups that benefit children in the region.

The group will use its $2,000 grant to help offset the cost of services for kids who are uninsured or underinsured, Kleidon said. Red Oak plans to provide mental health services for at least 425 uninsured or underinsured clients ages 5 to 18 in 2024. The budget for the project is $175,000, so the new grant will help about five youths.

Many of the clients that Red Oak serves are insured through Medicaid, but the application and recertification process can be difficult for those with limited resources or multiple barriers to access, resulting in temporary lapses in coverage. For commercially insured clients, Red Oak has seen many plans shift to higher deductibles to control costs, leaving clients to pay the entire cost of care until they meet their high deductible, which is often not feasible.

With roots in the community since 1963, Red Oak provides help, direction and hope for those struggling with mental health. It delivers “professional and compassionate care using best practices and trauma-informed approaches.”

“Our model is unique in that it brings the service to the consumer in general versus having the consumer have to come to the care,” Kleidon said.

Red Oak serves 19 school districts and has staff embedded in over 100 school buildings across the region. The bulk of the kids its serves are in Akron, she said.

The agency provides counseling, support, mentoring, psychiatry, screening, prevention, intervention, training, education and other services.

Students can find the help they need by going to school.

“Kids can tap into those services directly by just literally walking down their hall,” Kleidon said. “We’re usually housed right next to where guidance counselors or school counselors are housed.”

In the last fiscal year, Red Oak served 11,863 children overall.

Red Oak provides help for kids as young as 3 and goes all the way across the continuum of care, serving adults at its outpatient center.

A major capital renovation is underway at the offices at 611 W. Market St.

“It’s super exciting,” Kleidon said. “We got $2 million from the federal government, so we’re doing a massive update and renovation of the outpatient facility.”

Outpatient therapy and psychiatry services temporarily have moved across the street to the Blick Clinic at 640 W. Market St. while the administrative offices have relocated to Coleman Health Services at 1815 W. Market St.

For appointments, inquiries, assistance or more information, community members can call Red Oak at 330-996-4600 or visit https://redoakbh.org/.

Volunteers and donations are always welcome.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Red Oak provides direction for people with mental health struggles