Trial set against Oregon County; it did not provide mobile crisis
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HEADLINES
ALBUQUERQUE - City Executive Mariela Ruiz-Angel to Take Alternative Response Expertise to National Role, August 27, 2024
Mariela Ruiz-Angel will depart Albuquerque government after 9 years of service that spans multiple positions and two mayors. Ruiz-Angel is the founding Director of the Albuquerque Community Safety department, the nation's first and largest alternative first response department. Mayor Keller and the executive team express their appreciation for Ms. Ruiz-Angel and wish her well as she prepares to take on a new role as the first ever Director of Alternative Response Initiatives at Georgetown University’s Center for Innovations in Community Safety.
EVANSTON - CARE team starts community outreach, July 15 2024
The five-member team will be in full operation by July 29, responding to 911 and 311 calls from from 1 PM to 10 PM. They’ll begin taking some calls next week while continuing community outreach.
Team manager Jeron Dorsey, “I want people to know that this program is going to be very transformative for the community. I want the community to really know that we are really here to show compassion and empathy, and when we show up we’re strictly looking to help.”
CEDAR RAPIDS - Foundation 2 Crisis Services is ready to expand in Dubuque County.
Emily Blomme, Foundation 2 Crisis Services CEO, “People reach out to us for all sorts of reasons. It can be a relationship issue, it could be a job loss, it could be a new medical diagnosis, challenges between parents and children. These are people who are teachers or work in retail. These are your bankers, all the way through someone who is homeless and is seeking support. Because crisis doesn’t discriminate, there’s no barrier to accessing services.”
STOCKTON - MCRT program provides alternate support to law enforcement on mental health calls, September 3, 2024
Mobile Community Response Team (MCRT) was launched in November 2022 as a three-year pilot program between the city of Stockton and Community Medical Centers (CMC) to respond to mental and behavioral health crises instead of police. Funded with $5.8 million of federal pandemic money, MCRT responds to calls from 8 AM to 11 PM seven days a week.
From February to April, Stockton Police Department used MCRT only 52 times, out of more than 1,800 total calls served.
In May and June, nearly 80% of MCRT’s calls were welfare checks. Another 8.3% were classified as emotional disturbances.
And while the program has four vans, much of its work is actually done over the phone. Of nearly 200 initial cases in July, MCRT fielded 154 of them through phone calls.
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