Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter announced the Acorn2Oak mini-grant program to empower residents 8 to 18 years old to pursue their passions and talents and the creation of a pilot mental health urgent care clinic during his 2023 State of the County address Tuesday, March 14, at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts in West Bloomfield. The speech emphasized the county’s values of community, respect, inclusion, and gratitude.
“These Acorn2Oak mini grants will help show our young people that we are confident and optimistic about their future,” Coulter said. “I hope it will support, inspire and encourage personal growth, civic engagement and leadership development.”
Coulter cited Oakland County’s 22 robotics teams competing at the state level. If one or more of them qualifies for the First Robotics national competition to be held in Houston next month, it will cost about $1,200 per student to attend. An Acorn2Oak grant could ensure a student isn’t left behind for an inability to pay. Other younger residents are in all ways, moving Oakland County forward volunteering at food pantries, providing entertainment at nursing homes, or sponsoring events to raise money for everything from animal shelters to children’s hospitals. Acorn2Oak could pay for the cost of putting on these charitable events.
“These outstanding young people and so many more are taking public service to heart, not just to add a bullet point to their resume or college application, but to lead, innovate and lend a genuine hand to people in need in their communities,” Coulter said.
These achievements are also inspiring Coulter to re-launch MI Career Quest of Southeast Michigan, a regional event that brings together thousands of high school students to explore future careers in high-demand fields through hands-on, interactive exhibits. The county last organized MI Career Quest in November of 2019.
To address the unprecedented growth in the number of adults experiencing mental health crises, the county is now leading an effort to create an Integrated Urgent Care Clinic in
Pontiac. This clinic will offer emergency mental health care services to residents regardless of their ability to pay.
Thanks to a $5 million grant from the state, this pilot anchored by the county, Oakland Community Health Network, Honor Community Health, and hospitals will address the crucial need for improved and expanded access to both primary care and mental health services.
“Mental health care must be on par with our physical health care – in our attitudes and our services,” Coulter said.
Oakland County’s largest investment this past year has been in mental health. Before COVID-19 hit three years ago, there was a need to improve and expand access to mental health care for our residents. The pandemic exacerbated that need so the county made an unprecedented $24 million investment to increase access to mental health services.
Utilizing American Rescue Plan funds, the county is providing more mental health professionals in schools through a partnership with the Oakland Community Health Network and Oakland Schools and supporting hospitals as they begin mental health evaluations and services in their hospital emergency rooms through a partnership with the Michigan Hospital Association. In addition, the county has invested in a number of non-profit organizations to expand their capacity to provide a full range of mental health, social emotional, and other critical support services to residents in crisis through a partnership with the United Way of Southeastern Michigan. More than 66,000 people from 59 communities across Oakland County have sought mental health care through the agencies that received grants from the county.
“The problems afflicting our country are impacting all aspects of our lives. I think it’s time for us to take responsibility ourselves; to ask ourselves who are we as a people,” Coulter said. “Because while we are all different, we are fundamentally the same. We want to feel valued. We want to be safe, secure and make a better life for ourselves and our families. We face challenges. And we don’t have all the answers.”
As a tangible asset of Coulter’s appeal to live our values, county staff handed out a green Oakland County challenge coin to each audience member to remind them of the county’s values of community, respect, inclusion, and gratitude. One side of the coin lists the values on the outer rim with the county’s slogan, “All ways, moving forward,” in the middle. The other side displays the Oakland County tree logo and county name. Coulter will carry a few coins with him to give to inspiring recipients at future events.
Coulter recounted last week’s announcement of Oakland Thrive, a nonprofit organization that will help entrepreneurs and small businesses in Oakland County with a special focus on businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans. Oakland Thrive’s flagship program is Business Forward, a program Coulter announced in his 2022 State of the County speech to engage the county’s 38,000 small businesses with expertise and resources in the communities where they are located.
He also updated the progress of other programs:
• Oakland 80, the county’s transformational effort to ensure that 80 percent of Oakland County adults have a post-secondary degree or industry-recognized certificate by 2030: Using American Rescue Plan dollars, the county hired a team of navigators who have assisted more than 700 residents. Since its launch in 2020, the county has gone from 61 percent of residents with a post-secondary degree or certificate to 67.5 percent.
• Business Resource Network (BSN): Oakland County Michigan Works! re-launched the BSN after hearing from business owners about their challenges in retaining talented employees. Oakland County invested more than $1 million to provide success coaches to help employees who are facing challenges at work. The coaches also meet with the companies to talk about the best ways to retain employees. Data from nearly two dozen participating companies indicates a 90 percent retention rate for people who used the BSN.
• Housing: More than two out of five Oakland County residents spend more than 30 percent of their monthly income on housing. Oakland County is utilizing federal funds to provide $1 million in grants each year to build, rehabilitate. or preserve affordable housing in Oakland County. Through an initiative of the Board of Commissioners, the county is investing $5 million to create a new Housing Trust Fund that will help facilitate additional gap financing to encourage more affordable housing development in the county.
• Displaced Ukrainian families: Oakland County is the number one county in the state to sponsor and financially support more than 630 families who have left Ukraine since the Russian invasion began last year.
• Job growth and retention: In 2022, 40 companies, most in advanced manufacturing, robotics, or electric vehicle production, have expanded their footprint or decided to locate in Oakland County. The investments represent more than 7,000 retained and new jobs.
• Health 360, an initiative that brought Honor Community Health and Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency into the county’s health clinics to provide primary care and wraparound services onsite: Nearly 7,300 residents received these new services in 2022 at the clinics inside Oakland County Health Division offices in Pontiac and Southfield.
“I believe that what may be wrong with our country today can certainly be fixed by all that is right about it. As you can see, our future is bright. Your county is strong. It’s dedicated to reweaving the fabric of our communities through a wonderful mosaic of relationships. Holding our values close and achieving them through our actions,” Coulter said.
The county thanks sponsors for supporting the State of the County address: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Corewell Health, Edward C. Levy Co., Henry Ford Health System, and Orchard Laboratories.
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