A former Super 8 motel on Dublin Granville Road has been transformed into Champion's Bridge, a child wellness campus meant to give kids entering protective custody a safe place to land. The Franklin County facility, which includes three buildings, began with 20 beds spread across two floors, though officials plan to initially limit the number of children staying there to 10. It accepted its first placement a couple of weeks before its official ribbon cutting.
The campus is designed to provide housing, mental health support, and help transitioning children into a more stable environment, according to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel joined former Ohio State football star Maurice Clarett at the ribbon cutting this week, marking the public debut of a project years in the making.
A Motel Reborn as a Refuge
The building at 1078 East Dublin Granville Road previously operated as a Super 8, and Champion's Bridge had already received $4.4 million in state funding to complete the renovation, according to ABC6 On Your Side. The outlet reported the campus will offer temporary housing and therapy for youth dealing with complex behavioral and emotional needs. Franklin County's Board of Commissioners voted June 30 to approve a memorandum of understanding with Champion's Bridge, clearing the way for the project to move forward.
Clarett helped bring the campus vision to life, and he told NBC4 that his passion for the work partly comes from his own life experiences growing up in Youngstown and overcoming later challenges. He has spent about a decade working in behavioral health and addiction services. “I want every child at the campus to have an opportunity to move forward,” Clarett said, per the station's report.
Part of a Statewide Push
Tressel said Champion's Bridge is the first of six planned campuses across Ohio, state officials have said all six locations have been licensed, and they expect every site to begin serving children by January 2027. The state projects that between 75 and 100 children will be served across the six campuses within six to 12 months of the program's rollout, the same NBC4 report noted.
Ohio's broader campus initiative is built around short-term, therapeutic stays, with a goal of 45 days or less in a trauma-informed setting, according to cleveland.com. The campuses are intended to serve youth ages 6 to 18, or up to 21 for those with developmental disabilities. The state has said keeping these campuses close to a child's home community can help parents and extended family take part in treatment, which it said increases the chances of successful reunification.
Other Campuses Taking Shape Around Ohio
About $20 million from Ohio's operating budget, passed in late June, was earmarked to create four new campuses and expand two existing facilities statewide, cleveland.com reported. In Toledo, Unison Health was selected as one of the six sites to become a Child Wellness Campus, with a residential space described as having 12 beds, according to 13abc.
That Toledo facility is expected to provide up to 30 days of short-term stabilization and serve 24 counties across northwest Ohio, the station reported, with the state providing $2.6 million for major renovations there. 13abc reported the campus was set to open in January, though an exact date wasn't specified. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Children and Youth Director Kara Wente had announced funding support for all six campuses as part of the statewide effort, according to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth.
What Success Looks Like Long Term
Back in Franklin County, officials say Champion's Bridge could help establish a model for the other campuses still coming online across the state. But the effort's long-term success depends on partnerships with local organizations and county agencies to sustain services, per NBC4's reporting. For now, the campus is already housing its first children, with the broader statewide network expected to take fuller shape in the months ahead.
