SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — A program in Shaker Heights that puts social workers on the front lines of emergencies is expanding, city and county leaders announced Tuesday, to help more communities respond to situations involving mental health challenges.
“Mental health professionals on site in real time to be able to address those issues,” Shaker Heights Mayor David Weiss said during a press conference. “Take the pressure off our first responders. And provide a better service to our residents.”
The city of Shaker Heights has been home to a pilot program that does just that for the last two years. During that time social worker Annette Amistadi has been embedded with the police and fire departments as they respond to 911 calls.
“It may come through as a theft but, like I said, there may be so much more going on besides just a theft,” Amistadi told 3News. “It’s interesting because they’ll kind of gravitate towards, oh its somebody different who can help me.”
The program’s success captured the attention of Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne.
“My takeaway was that persons with mental health challenges were better served in this community by law enforcement partners by the city and ultimately lives were saved, suicides averted,” Ronayne said.
Now, Amistadi will lead an expanded program, offering the same mental health services across five cities, including Shaker Heights, Richmond Heights, Cleveland Heights, University Heights and South Euclid.
“Our cities need this,” Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren said. “There are people in my city who need help and it’s not always that immediate, urgent in the moment help that our first responders so ably provide.”
“What it means is now we have a licensed professional that can address our needs,” said Mayor Kim Thomas from Richmond Heights.
“Getting vital care to people who need it. It means meeting people where they are,” University Heights Mayor Michael Brennan said.
“This is just a first step of enormous change in our society,” Mayor Georgine Welo in South Euclid added.
Here’s how it works:
The program called First CALL (Crisis Assistance and Local Linkage) starts in the dispatch center where a licensed mental health specialist will screen incoming calls for mental health issues.
“That’s going to triage a lot of calls so that we can spend more time doing community policing,” Shaker Heights Police Chief Wayne Hudson said.
Amistadi said she will supervise four licensed professionals and three peer supports who will work out of Shaker Heights while also embedding themselves with police and fire departments to respond to those calls.
“Once on scene, the clinician acts as a resource to both our neighbor in crisis and our first responders,” Amistadi said.
“It’s exciting to see the impact the program has for our neighbors and for our community. To see actual people getting the help they need so that way they don’t feel like they’re out here alone. They have that support. They have that community resource.”
City leaders said this program expansion would not be possible without financial assistance.
“When it comes to health and human services, we as small communities do not have the funding or the resources to do what we’re going to do today,” Mayor Welo said.
According to Cuyahoga County, “for the first two years the program will be funded by grants provided by the following, with additional support from the partner cities:
- $523,131 from the Alcohol, Drug Addition & Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County
- $399,846 from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) of the U.S. Department of Justice.
- $200,000 from the George Gund Foundation
- $75,000 from Cuyahoga County
Additional grant funding is expected.
First CALL is expected to begin this summer.
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