U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer announced $2 million to help jumpstart the reinvention of a vacant building in Cortland into a new mental health facility.

The county clinic saw a 30-year high for total sessions this past August.

The Senate majority leader said this new facility would offer double the space for programs.

“Cortland County needs and deserves a modern mental health care facility," Schumer said. "Before the COVID-19 pandemic, rural communities were already struggling to meet mental health needs and those needs have only increased. That is why I fought for historic funding increases to mental health programs in the COVID relief legislation and made sure the local aid places like Cortland County received was flexible so that they could invest in the long term health of their communities. Now, Congress needs to pass the final piece of the puzzle and deliver the last $3 million so that Cortland County can transform this vacant building into the state of the art mental health center Central New York’s rural residents deserve.”

He said there's also $3 million more in funding tied up in the spending bill.