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U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, (left) speaks with Charlie Pope, 19, of Greenville, who is a former Dayton Children\u2019s patient. During Husted\u2019s tour of the Dayton Children\u2019s new Mathile Center for Mental Health and Wellness on Friday, May 15, 2026, Pope discussed how Dayton Children\u2019s helped her during a mental health crisis she experienced a few years prior. SAM WILDOW\/STAFF<\/p>\n
SAM WILDOW\/STAFF<\/a><\/p>\n In a visit to the Dayton region, U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, took the opportunity to tour Dayton Children\u2019s new Mathile Center for Mental Health and Wellness, learn about the programs, and meet a former patient who made it through her own mental health challenges with help from Dayton Children\u2019s.<\/p>\n The Mathile Center, located at 860 Valley St. in Dayton on Dayton Children\u2019s main complex, doubled the amount of space for mental health treatment at Dayton Children\u2019s Hospital and is the culmination of years of planning, fundraising and construction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the scope of the challenges these young people face,\u201d Husted said. \u201cAnd Dayton Children\u2019s stepped up to be the place to turn in a time of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n Michelle Mathile, a member of the Mathile Family Foundation and a representative of the Mathile family, shared how the Mathile family joined together to donate to the hospital that would eventually come to bear the family name.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we had the opportunity as a family to come together, it was the first time that all three generations of our family had given together, and we knew that if we wanted to give to something, this is what we wanted to give to,\u201d Mathile said.<\/p>\n This was also the first time the family had allowed their name to be used in the name of the building.<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt it was important to break down that stigma,\u201d Mathile said. \u201cMental health affects everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, answers questions and talks about the importance of mental health as Debbie Feldman, outgoing president and CEO of Dayton Children\u2019s (right) listens following a tour of Dayton Children\u2019s Mathile Center for Mental Health and Wellness on Friday, May 15, 2026. SAM WILDOW\/STAFF<\/p>\n SAM WILDOW\/STAFF<\/a><\/p>\n The $110 million, three-story facility has 48 beds, each in private rooms costing about $100,000 each with the technology and safety features in mind to protect children against self-harm.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make sure that every child in the Miami Valley, and in our country and our state, has access to mental health services that they need because children today face many more challenges than they ever have,\u201d Husted said.<\/p>\n The mental health struggles exacerbated by technology<\/p>\n Cell phones and social media were two things Husted pointed to as to what has made growing up more challenging for children and youth of the 21st century.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of them come from difficult family situations. Some of them face enormous pressures in their life, but the one thing that is making it harder than any time ever are these things,\u201d Husted said, holding up his cell phone. \u201cThe smart phone with the algorithms that exist in these phones I think, in many cases, have been very harmful to our young people, leading to mental health crises for them and their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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