Staff photos / Dan Pompili LEFT: Boardman police Chief Todd Werth speaks at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Social Center Friday after receiving the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board’s Leader of the Year Award for his efforts in making the Clarence Smith First Responder Wellness Center a reality last year. To his left are his wife, Michelle Werth, clinical director for MHRB, who presented the award to him, and MHRB Executive Director Duane Piccirilli.

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County’s mentl health was the toast of the town on Friday, or at least the people who work to provide it.

The Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board hosted its annual awards luncheon at Our Lady of Mount Carmel social hall, and honored those who have made the most impact this year.

Austintown and Boardman were well represented among the first responders, government officials, agency employees and private-sector workers whose efforts benefited Mahoning Valley residents in need.

The Leader of the Year award went to Boardman police Chief Todd Werth, who spearheaded completion and opening of the Clarence W. Smith Mahoning Valley First Responder Wellness Center in the township.

The facility, which provides mental health, recovery and training services at the former Smith family homestead on Raupp Road near the township government center was completed in October. Last April the township approved $586,000 in contributions for the project from a private donor and Mahoning County commissioners.

Werth joked on Friday that he may have violated every zoning, health and fire code in the county to complete the project so quickly. The podium and the remarks honoring Werth were handed over to his wife, Michelle Werth, clinical director at MHRB.

“Today, we recognize a leader who has reshaped how we will care for the people who protect us,” she said. “Like every first responder, he knows a truth often left unspoken — this work changes you…Long before wellness became common language in public safety, Todd recognized that the health of a department is measured not only in outcomes, but in the well-being of its people.”

The Clarence Smith Center is open and regularly hosts seminars and training sessions and provides services for first responders from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, and beyond.

Many of the people the Smith Center serves were on the ground Nov. 22, when the Phoenix House Senior Living Center on Meridian Road in Austintown exploded.

Retired Austintown police Detective Sgt. Kathy Dina, now director of security for Austintown Local Schools, was honored for her efforts in facilitating and organizing the rescue and relocation efforts for the building’s more than 130 displaced residents. For those efforts, she was honored as the 2026 Crisis Intervention Team Officer of the Year.

Though Dina said everyone else did the work while she only gave them a place to do it, the MHRB saw it differently.

“What she brought to that scene was more than experience. She brought presence, she brought calm,” said Youngstown Police CIT Officer and MHRB board member Richard Warren. “She brought a deep understanding that every individual there was not just a victim of the explosion, but a person in crisis, in need of compassion, stability and support…With clarity and steadiness, she helped coordinate efforts across schools, transportation services, behavioral health providers, emergency medical personnel, law enforcement and community organizations.”

Austintown was also represented on the stage Friday by Township Administrator Mark D’Apolito and Trustee Monica Deavers, who accepted the MHRB’s 2026 Project of the Year award for pursuing the installation of a Safe Haven Baby Box at the township’s main fire station on state Route 46. The box allows for a mother in crisis to bring a baby she feels she cannot care for to a safe place where it will immediately be rescued by firefighters, provided with medical care and entered into the social services system.

The box also provides a hot line for the mother to call to receive health services herself and perhaps even be reunited with the baby if she receives care and changes her mind.

The box was supported by a $25,000 gift from an anonymous donor, who walked into Charly’s Family Restaurant, which is owned by Deavers, one day after reading a news article about the proposed project.

“It is a program grounded in prevention, dignity, and the belief that no parent facing desperation should ever feel alone or without options,” said presenter Linda Warino. “What makes this program especially unique is its connection to behavioral health. Many parents who turn to safe haven resources are facing overwhelming stress, untreated mental health issues, trauma or moments of profound emotional crisis.”

The Phoenix House explosion was mentioned several times throughout the afternoon’s proceedings, as presenters praised several award recipients for their efforts to help residents and first responders coordinate and cope with the disaster, both in the immediate aftermath and in the days and weeks following.

The MHRB’s two Frontline Worker of the Year award winners both were credited with helping residents and other agencies deal with the blast and those it affected as well as the way they do their jobs every day in any context.

Keona White of the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Program and Doug Doyle of Direction Home of Eastern Ohio were lauded for their efforts to bridge gaps, solve problems and treat people with dignity and humanity in their most difficult moments. Doyle was praised for visiting regularly, to this day, with former Phoenix House residents who are still living at Boardman’s Baymont Motel. White was recognized for being a compassionate and relentless advocate for everyone she works with, seeking grant funding and being a reliable point of contact for other agencies.

Humility seemed to be the common thread between both of them.

“Thank you to the residents of (Phoenix House) for reminding me what toughness, resilience, and love really looks like,” Doyle said.

“I’d ask you to just pray for us, because there is so much more work to be done,” White said.

The Eagle Award, MHRB’s highest honor, was presented to Mercy Health-Youngstown President Kathleen Harley.

“Kathy is the kind of leader who removes barriers rather than builds them, and someone who truly sees the whole person, not just a diagnosis. Her service extends far beyond the hospital walls,” said MHRB Board Chair Dr. Chelsea Zoldan. “Kathy bridges the gap between clinical medicine and community-based services. She understands that help is shaped not only by treatment, but also by housing, safety, support and opportunity.”

Other awards presented Friday included the award for Support Staff of the Year, which went to Jasmine Phillips, lead prevention specialist at Meridian Healthcare. Paul Garchar, CEO at Potential Development, was presented with the Child Advocate of the Year award, and Patricia Latimer of the Mahoning County Community Support Network and MYCAP received the Adult Advocate of the Year award. Office manager Martha Golec also was honored for her 20 years of service at MHRB.