First Lady Casey DeSantis was in Gadsden County Thursday morning to announce bolstered mental health funding. A $1.2 million, three-year grant from the Department of Children and Families is going to Gadsden, meant to help divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues from ending up in the criminal justice system.
Gadsden Sheriff Morris Young says those funds coming in will help with a persistent problem in the area.
“Mental health and substance abuse has been one of those major issues in our community,” Young told reporters. “They have robbed so many people – I mean, really good people … and they end up in our jails. And of course, our jails become overcrowded.”
Governor Ron DeSantis made an appearance alongside the First Lady to announce more than $2 million additional dollars going to the county from hurricane recovery grants. The bulk of those funds will go toward repairing the Hutchinson Ferry Bridge that collapsed last year, as well as the Little River Bridge.
