WKYC Features PEP’s Impact on Young People
On Saturday, Oct. 19 PEP’s CEO Habeebah Rasheed Grimes and director of PEP Connections Jill Koenig sat down with Leon Bibb of WKYC’s program, We the People. The episode highlighted OhioRISE – a statewide program of Medicaid aimed at helping young people with significant behavioral health issues – and PEP’s role as one of the agencies that administers the program in Northeast Ohio.
In the segment, Koenig described how OhioRISE works. “It’s a program where we use a team approach so it’s easier for families. So, all the providers and all the services and all the natural supports that a family has around them, we work as a team. The family doesn’t have to worry about being pulled in multiple directions.”
Koenig went on to describe the impact the program is having on the community’s young people.
“Every day we’re seeing little successes, so you know those kids who may have had truancy issues, we’re getting them back in school, we’re getting them in their appropriate school placement. Kids who may not have had access to psychiatric services, medications, therapies, we’re getting them involved and hooked up with those services. Kids that have been isolated, we’re getting them in some pro-social activities so they can learn how to interact and communicate more appropriately.”