RadleyCare Raises $3M Seed to Scale Peer-Led Mental Health Care Across Ohio and Georgia

Cincinnati-based RadleyCare, a behavioral health company focused on peer-led support services, has raised $3M in seed funding from Aurora Forge, Jackson Healthcare, Peg’s Foundation, several family offices, and returning investor CareSource. RadleyCare connects adults living with Serious Mental Illness (SMI), Substance Use Disorder (SUD), and co-occurring conditions with certified peer supporters who have firsthand lived experience.

The company currently operates a network of more than 400 certified peer supporters across 70+ Ohio counties and plans to expand into Georgia as its first market outside Ohio. RadleyCare's services are designed to complement traditional behavioral healthcare while addressing workforce shortages, patient engagement challenges, and growing demand for community-based support models.

The funding reflects a broader shift occurring across behavioral healthcare. Investors, payers, and healthcare organizations are increasingly backing models that combine workforce development, Medicaid-reimbursed services, technology-enabled care coordination, and lived experience to improve outcomes while controlling costs.

What Happened

RadleyCare announced a $3M seed round backed by Aurora Forge, Jackson Healthcare, Peg’s Foundation, several prominent family offices, and returning investor CareSource. Founded in 2025, the company was built by Anson Frericks (CEO), Jonas Thom, LPCC (President), Adam Meier (COO), and Mark Murphy (Head of Peer Support), bringing together experience across behavioral health operations, Medicaid systems, healthcare policy, business building, and peer support services.

RadleyCare's platform connects individuals facing mental health and substance use challenges with certified peer supporters who have navigated similar experiences. The model is designed to complement existing treatment plans rather than replace clinical care, creating additional support structures for individuals managing long-term behavioral health conditions.

The company operates as a peer-run organization under Ohio law. According to the peer-run organizations are designed and operated by individuals with lived behavioral health experience. More than 50% of RadleyCare's internal employees have lived experience with mental illness or behavioral health challenges, and services are delivered through certified peer professionals. Healthcare often talks about meeting patients where they are. RadleyCare is attempting to build an organization around people who have already been there.

Why This Matters

Behavioral health continues to face two persistent challenges: access and trust. Finding treatment remains difficult in many communities, and maintaining engagement after treatment begins can be even harder. Healthcare organizations have spent years investing in provider networks, care management programs, and digital engagement tools, yet patient engagement remains one of the most stubborn problems in behavioral healthcare.

RadleyCare approaches that challenge from a different angle. Instead of focusing exclusively on clinical interactions or technology-enabled engagement, the company centers its model around certified peer supporters who understand recovery, treatment, relapse, and long-term management through direct experience. For many individuals living with SMI or SUD, that level of credibility can be difficult to replicate through traditional healthcare channels.

The result is a model built around trust that has been earned rather than assigned. That distinction helps explain why investors were willing to back the company less than two years after launch and why healthcare organizations continue exploring peer support as a scalable component of behavioral health delivery.

Market Context

The behavioral health sector continues to face significant workforce shortages across the United States. Demand for mental health services continues to rise while provider capacity struggles to keep pace. Medicaid programs, healthcare systems, and managed care organizations are increasingly searching for scalable models that improve outcomes without dramatically increasing costs.

Peer support has emerged as one of the more promising categories within behavioral healthcare because it addresses both workforce constraints and patient engagement challenges simultaneously. RadleyCare sits directly within that trend, combining a certified workforce, reimbursement pathways, and technology infrastructure into a model designed for broader deployment.

The company grew from more than 275 licensed peers in 2025 to over 450 accredited professionals by mid-2026, representing growth of more than 60% in less than a year. Today, the RadleyCare network spans more than 70 counties across Ohio. Growth at that pace rarely happens by accident. It typically reflects demand from patients, providers, and healthcare payers searching for models that deliver measurable results.

CareSource's continued participation is particularly notable. As one of the largest nonprofit managed care organizations in the United States, CareSource was an early strategic backer of RadleyCare and has continued supporting the company's expansion, signaling confidence in both the business model and the broader peer-support category.

Competitive Landscape

Behavioral health technology has attracted billions in venture capital over the past decade. Many companies focused on telehealth, digital therapeutics, virtual care delivery, and care navigation platforms. Most attempted to improve access through technology.

RadleyCare occupies a different category. Technology supports the platform, but the primary product remains human connection. The company's software helps coordinate relationships between patients, providers, and peer supporters while improving care coordination and service delivery. The peer network remains the center of the value proposition.

That positioning gives RadleyCare a distinct place within the behavioral health ecosystem. The company is not attempting to replace clinicians or treatment programs. It is attempting to strengthen the support structure surrounding both, creating an additional layer of engagement that many healthcare systems struggle to provide consistently.

What This Signals

The most important signal from this funding round is not the size of the raise. It is where investor attention appears to be moving. Healthcare investors spent years funding platforms built primarily around automation and digital engagement. Increasingly, capital is finding its way toward businesses that combine technology with human relationships.

RadleyCare reflects that shift. The company combines Medicaid-reimbursed peer support services, community-based care, workforce development, and technology-enabled coordination into a model designed to scale without losing the human element. Investors appear increasingly interested in businesses capable of operating within existing healthcare reimbursement structures while improving outcomes.

For healthcare operators, the takeaway is straightforward. Solutions that improve engagement and fit within established payment systems continue to attract investor attention even as venture markets become more selective.

The Bigger Industry Shift

Behavioral healthcare is undergoing a structural transformation. Payers want better outcomes, providers face workforce shortages, and patients increasingly want support that feels personal rather than transactional. Those forces are creating opportunities for companies willing to rethink how care is delivered.

RadleyCare's seed round represents more than a financing event. It reflects growing recognition that lived experience can function as a strategic healthcare asset when paired with operational discipline, workforce development, and scalable infrastructure. Peer support is evolving from a complementary service into a more integrated component of behavioral healthcare delivery.

The expansion into Georgia will be RadleyCare's first major test outside Ohio. Investors are betting the model travels. The market will ultimately determine how far, but the broader trend is already clear: healthcare organizations are increasingly recognizing that people who have lived through behavioral health challenges can play a meaningful role in helping others navigate them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is RadleyCare?

RadleyCare is a Cincinnati-based behavioral health company that connects adults living with Serious Mental Illness (SMI), Substance Use Disorder (SUD), and co-occurring conditions with certified peer supporters.

How much funding did RadleyCare raise?

RadleyCare raised $3M in seed funding in June 2026.

Who invested in RadleyCare?

Investors include CareSource, Aurora Forge, Jackson Healthcare, Peg’s Foundation, several family offices, and other strategic backers.

What is a peer-run organization?

A peer-run organization is a behavioral health organization operated primarily by individuals with lived experience of mental health or substance use challenges. RadleyCare qualifies as a peer-run organization under Ohio law.

How many peer supporters work with RadleyCare?

RadleyCare's network includes more than 400 certified peer supporters serving over 70 counties throughout Ohio.

What conditions does RadleyCare support?

RadleyCare serves adults living with Serious Mental Illness (SMI), Substance Use Disorder (SUD), and co-occurring behavioral health conditions.

Is RadleyCare expanding beyond Ohio?

Yes. RadleyCare plans to expand into Georgia, marking its first market outside Ohio.

Why are investors interested in peer support models?

Peer support models can improve patient engagement, expand workforce capacity, complement traditional healthcare delivery, and operate within existing Medicaid reimbursement structures.