Sen. Brown announces $879K grant for East Palestine relief

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown has announced a new grant aimed at supporting community health and reslience for the community in East Palestine.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is providing $879,509 emergency grant to the community in the aftermath of the train derailment that happened there in February.
According to Sen. Brown's office, the grant comes in response to a request from the State of Ohio for additional funding to address immediate and ongoing behavioral and mental health needs in East Palestine.
It will also be used to expand and enhance the capacity of local crisis response systems like therapy services for first responders at Camp Braveheart and a certified peer supporter for the East Palestine Police Department, among other things.
"East Palestine is the type of community that's so often forgotten or exploited by corporate America," Brown said. "I'm going to fight as long as it takes to make sure residents get the support they need to make their community whole."
Last month, he called on FEMA to approve Governor DeWine's Major Disaster Declaration request to unlock additional resources from the federal government to address ongoing needs in East Palestine.
“The people of this community had their lives overturned by 53 train cars and the negligence of a corporation that cut safety to enrich its bottom line," Brown said in the letter. "These Ohioans and their neighbors in Pennsylvania have experienced trauma that no American should ever have to experience. It’s our responsibility to do everything possible to help them recover."
Brown has also pushed the EPA, CDC, and NIH to conduct long-term health monitoring and further research on the short and long-term health effects of the derailment in East Palestine.
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