Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services’ (GCBHS) 19th Annual Champions of Hope Gala was held April 25th and was one of our most successful ever! We want to thank our 2025 sponsors, including Presenting Sponsor Kroger Health. Their continued support ensured a record-breaking year for sponsorship funding! (See the full list on page 2.)
Held at the Madison Event Center for the third year in a row, the over 200 guests enjoyed an elegantly decorated room while perusing the silent auction, raffle, and the wine wall – always a crowd favorite! The evening raised over $175,000 in support of the programs and services that GCBHS offers to the Greater Cincinnati area.
Hosted by WLWT anchor and reporter Ashley Kirklen, this year’s Champions of Hope honoree was Clermont County Municipal Court Judge Anita Bechmann. Judge Bechmann was honored for the incredible work she does through Mental Health and OVI (DUI) Court. (You can learn more about Judge Bechmann on page 3.)
St. Francis Seraph Ministries was also honored with our Community Partnership Award for the work being done at St. Anthony Center in Over-the-Rhine. The award was recently re-named in honor of Board Member Nick Hahn who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. (Read more about the new Nick Hahn Community Partnership Award on page 3.)
Closing the evening was speaker Michael Baker, a client on Judge Bechmann’s OVI (DUI) Court docket. Michael talked about his experiences not only with Judge Bechmann but with the staff at GCBHS, from his time in the CASC program at the Clermont County Jail (a treatment alternative), to the post CASC group and individual therapy he received. He gave credit to everyone who has surrounded him on his journey by saying, “I'm so honored to be in the program. Both my family and I are reaping the benefits of my sober life and my recovery. And I'm just super ecstatic about being a part of this and making my life better for my future.” Michael reflected on how this change has not only affected him but has had a ripple effect, “I think the community deserves to have a better person in it. I'm just thrilled to be that person.”
WLWT Anchor/Reporter Ashley Kirklen emceed the event. She is pictured with CEO Jeff O'Neil.
The room at the Madison Event Center looked beautiful.
Special guest speaker Michael Baker with Piper Cobb.
Clermont County GCBHS employees celebrate with Judge Bechmann and some of the Municipal Court staff.
THANK YOU
to our generous sponsors
PRESENTING SPONSOR
RECOVERY SPONSORS
Barnes Dennig
Jerry and Rossana Basch
Gallagher
Dr. Larry Graham
Mercy Health Clermont Hospital
Nick Hahn Community Partnership Award
This year our Community Partnership Award was re-named the Nick Hahn Community Partnership Award in honor of the long-time GCBHS Board Member, who passed away earlier this year. Nick (pictured below) served as Board Chair, Development Chair, and was also an instrumental part of the Champions of Hope Committee, helping to ensure the annual gala’s success. Most importantly, Nick was a tireless advocate for Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services (GCBHS) and the people being helped in our community.
The very first Nick Hahn Community Partnership award was presented to St. Seraph Ministries, a nonprofit that operates St. Anthony Center. Established in 2017 and located in Over-the-Rhine, St. Anthony’s is a collective of non-profit social service providers working together to meet the needs of people struggling with poverty and homelessness. St. Francis Seraph Ministries provides meals and cooking classes as well as life skills training. Other nonprofits operating at St. Anthony Center include The Center for Respite Care and Mary Magdalen House, among others.
The GCBHS C.A.R.E. (Collaborations for Addictions, Recovery, & Engagement) Team is also stationed at St. Anthony Center. C.A.R.E engages with those who come to St. Anthony’s looking for help. We offer case management, counseling, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), employment services, peer recovery support, and other options for clientele who are engaged with organizations at the site.
Jeff O'Neil with St. Seraph Ministries' Executive Director, Mary Pat Raupach (center) and their Board President Sophie Snauwaert.
Honoring Judge Anita Bechmann
This year’s Champions of Hope Honoree, Judge Anita Bechmann, began her career as a lawyer in 1992. In 2022 she was appointed by Governor DeWine to the Clermont County Municipal Court bench, where she currently serves as administrative judge of the Court. In 2023, she reached out to Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services (GCBHS) leadership to assist her in launching a Mental Health Court in Clermont County. “Throughout my career,” she says, “I saw the impact that mental health issues have on individuals, on families, on our court system. I kept thinking, maybe we need to be more proactive in that area.”
She continues, “I spent a long time in juvenile court, and I represented abused and neglected children. Because these children were in trouble with the law, you begin to learn that most people are not bad people. They are responding to circumstances and behaving in a way that they've been taught. As I grew in my career, many of these children became adults and the system didn't work well for them or give them enough support and help. So here they are, as adult criminals. But they weren't bad people. They were just hurting people. And if you could teach them new ways to think and act, then maybe they could stop that cycle.”
Clermont County Municipal Court Administrator Tracie Sellars agrees, “Data shows us that if we can help these individuals become invested in themselves through programming and treatment, our communities are safer. Their families are better. They are better parents. They are better employees. They are better community members.”
With support from the court, the Adult Probation Department, and GCBHS, a Mental Health Court docket was launched. In 2024 Judge Bechmann was asked to fill a vacancy in the OVI (Operating a Vehicle
Impaired) special docket which works closely with CASC (Clermont County Community Alternative Sentencing Center), a program located in the Clermont County jail and operated by GCBHS staff. Judge Bechmann says these dockets are important because, “The entire goal is for them to learn (when we're out of the picture), how to live a clean, healthy, sober lifestyle, and that includes support systems from the community, their family, and maintaining whatever treatment or medicine they may need. So, that's our goal…to get them to buy into this new lifestyle and then want to live it forever and learn the skills to do that.”
Those who work with Judge Bechmann are in awe of her commitment to helping people and making their lives better. She is also quite humble and loves giving credit to everyone but herself. “I get the glory of being able to sit there on the bench when an individual says, ‘I feel hopeful or I feel worthy,’ or you get to see their true personality coming out because now they're taking care of themselves. And it's an honor to be able to see that happening in individuals. But I'm not the one doing the hard work. I think that comes from probation officers, case managers, counselors, group leaders, the psychiatrists, the nurses …which is why I'm so taken aback with this award. I get to see the benefits of it and hear the good stories and see the progress, but it's GCBHS staff and probation that are doing the hard work, as well as the people in the programs.”
Judge Bechmann enjoyed the evening surrounded by her family and co-workers from the Clermont County Municipal Court (below).
Bringing Services to Those in Need
Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services (GCBHS) became the recipient of an Interact for Health Rural Changemaker grant to assist those we serve through our Clermont County locations. The $110,000 grant provided funding to purchase a Mobile Behavioral Health Unit to eliminate transportation as a barrier to care, which can sometimes affect people in rural communities. The mobile unit will bring the services to them, rather than expect them to try and find a way to get to our offices in Batavia, Amelia, and Milford.
According to Alica Fine, GCBHS Chief Program Officer and Senior VP of Clermont County Services, “We have been working with partners and community members to better understand the barriers people face in seeking and engaging in our services. In part, because lack of transportation makes getting to our physical buildings difficult. This will allow us to reach more families and individuals in our outlying rural communities by building connections close to where they feel most at home."
The mobile unit that GCBHS ordered was recently delivered and services are set to begin
this summer. The goal is to have the unit deployed to outlying communities each day of the week (Mon-Fri), on a set schedule. The mobile unit will also be present at community-wide events such as the Clermont County Fair, National Night Out, Summer School programming, and various other community festivals.
In addition to providing linkage to treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, “this mobile unit will be working on building relationships in our rural communities,” according to Heather Cokl, GCBHS Associate Vice President of Addiction Services. “The ultimate goal is to be an educational resource for community members, raise awareness of stigma around these illnesses, and create new access points for people to find services that would benefit them and their family structures."
GCBHS staff in Batavia inside the new mobile unit.
