Sidney native honored in Mansfield

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MANSFIELD — Sidney native William Wood was honored, July 6, by the Richland County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services when a new building was dedicated in his honor.

Wood Pointe is an apartment complex for transitional youth, 18-21, that includes onsite services.

Wood, a 1963 graduate of Sidney High School, was executive director of the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board from 1986 to 2002. During his tenure, he identified housing as a major problem for many people with mental illness. He began a series of projects over several years that resulted in the construction of the county’s first, purpose-driven, independent living facilities. Working first with the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, he obtained funding to construct several new homes. During the next several years, he worked with officials from the Ohio Department of Mental Health to obtain grants and secure needed matching funds from the local community for four additional facilities, three for independent living and another for transitional living featuring onsite services.

Current Executive Director Joe Trolian opened the ceremony with an explanation of the vision for the new facility, stating that Wood Pointe is “designed for those making that difficult transition from youth to adult with the additional challenge of having been in foster care, kinship care or other out-of-home placements.” The full range of services and the collaboration with other agencies make this a true innovation in services to these young adults, he added.

In introducing Wood, Trolian called him “a pioneer in affordable housing,” and also noted his role as a founding member of the Youth and Family Services Council, a Richland County initiative that was so innovative that Ohio used the model to mandate a council in every county.

Wood thanked the board and Trolian, saying, “I am deeply humbled by this honor.” In his remarks, he also thanked his wife, Jill, for her strength and encouragement; his son, Steve; as well as his staff and board members, “without whom I could never have succeeded.” He also complimented Trolian on his leadership in continuing to develop the concept of housing as the first step in treatment.

“It’s really hard to concentrate on getting better and working on the other problems of life when you don’t have decent, affordable housing. This addresses that aspect and more,” Wood said. “What we see before us is merely bricks and mortar. What has already started within this building is yet another step that builds upon a basic belief that individuals with emotional problems and diseases of the brain — what is often collectively referred to as mental illness — can lead full and productive lives if we start by meeting the basic need for a home.”

Wood was responsible for overseeing the establishment of the board’s first five dwellings.

“If memory serves me correctly, it is now over 65 homes, some with services, some independent living, but all with a long term goal to eventually move residents into the community as full members,” he said.

Following his high school graduation, Wood spent 11 years in the U.S. Air Force, including a year in Viet Nam and eight years in England, where he met Jill. He earned an Associate of Arts from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Master of Public Adminstration from Kent State University.

Wood then served as the business manager of a mental health facility in Kent, as assistant director of one in Zanesville, and as director of a mental health board in Billings, Montana, before becoming the executive director in Mansfield. Wood was a Medicaid consultant for the state of Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services after he retired from the Richland County post. He retired from the state job in 2009 and the Woods then lived in England for several years. They returned to Ohio, settling in Powell, where they now live, in 2013.

He returns to Shelby County often and was here Monday for a visit with his brother, David Wood, and his sisters, Barbara Ferree and Amy Wildermuth, all of Sidney, and Debbie Mentges, of Anna.

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Mental health board names building after William Wood

By Patricia Ann Speelman

[email protected]

Reach the writer at 937-538-4824.

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