About PASS

Our Story

Prevention Awareness Support Services offers mental wellness and prevention programming to varied audiences throughout West Central Ohio. Under contracts with Mental Health and Recovery Services Boards or alcohol drugs and mental health boards (ADAMH), and state, federal, and private funders, PASS staff present evidence-based programs to meet specific outcomes. Our popular school-based programs focus on substance use prevention, pro-social emotional learning, and suicide prevention. We also offer programming for adults who are parenting children from newborn through adolescence. Our primary adult prevention program provides an overview of mental wellness and developing mental health challenges to enhance early recognition and intervention to prevent challenges from becoming worse. We also coordinate prevention coalitions and offer response to tragedies call postvention.

PASS has grown from a one office, three county provider, to now serving eleven counties out of five offices. The counties served with PASS programming are Allen, Auglaize, Delaware, Hardin, Mercer, Morrow, Paulding, Union, Van Wert, Champaign, and Logan. Program delivery does vary by county based upon selected need and funding.

Please feel free to explore our website or call the office with a particular program question.

Our Beginning

PASS (Prevention Awareness Support Services), is a non-profit organization service in Allen, Auglaize, Hardin and Union Counties. PASS (formerly PVFF) was created in 2001 through a grant from the Anthem Foundation of Ohio. It began as a coalition made up of individuals representing over 50 organizations in Allen County. Serving the community through the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize, and Hardin Counties and the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Union County, PASS provides education, programming, and resource referral to critical issues. PASS supports evidence-based programs in each of the prevention focus areas of child abuse, alcohol and other drugs, mental illness, suicide and problem gambling. As referenced above, the next chapter in the PASS journey began in July, 2019 as we opened an office in Marysville to serve the citizens of Union County. The array of PASS programs is offered with the intent to keep the local community needs at the forefront of each interaction.

Highlights of Our Journey

PASS began in Allen County in 2001 and expanded into Auglaize and Hardin Counties in 2010 with a contract with the Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Allen, Auglaize, and Hardin Counties. Currently PASS provides school-based programming in nearly all public and private schools, adult prevention programming, support groups and postvention services throughout counties.

PASS began in Union County in 2019 with a contract with the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Union County. Currently PASS provides school-based programming in all public schools, adult prevention programming, and support groups throughout Union County.

PASS began in Paulding and Van Wert Counties in 2020 with a contract with Tri County ADAMHS. Currently PASS provides school-based programming in public schools throughout the county.

PASS has just begun providing prevention services in Delaware and Morrow Counties in 2021 with a contract with the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health & Recovery Services Board. PASS provides school-based programming support to school staff to implement evidence-based programming throughout the counties.
In 2022, PASS once again expanded. Through a contract with the Mental Health, Drug & Alcohol Services Board of Logan & Champaign Counties, PASS offers school-based and adult programs throughout Logan and Champaign Counties.

Our Mission

Staff