Plans are moving ahead to bring a mobile mental health response initiative to Gary. Under the proposal, a clinician would be available to respond to mental health crises 24 hours a day, without necessarily involving police.
Chris Carroll is the chief clinical officer at Edgewater Health. "We work in conjunction with the police. In our model, it will not be what you call a co-responders model. Co-responders is when the police and the crisis worker go out together. In this model, it will be an independent model, and we will only call the police if we need them," Carroll told the Gary City Council's ways and means committee Monday.
The proposal came out of the city's police reform commission and a community meeting held in May, based programs in place in other cities throughout the country. It would likely involve a partnership with Edgewater, the Gary Police Department and the mayor's office.
Now, the city council is considering whether to allocate $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan money to get the program up and running. Council President William Godwin said they're aiming to spend $250,000 to $400,000 dollars a year.
"We know that there would be costs for the actual social workers who would be on call. If there were vehicles that were being used and gas, that would be an operations cost, and of course, any type of administrative support for the reporting," Godwin said during Monday's meeting.
In the long term, organizers hope to sustain the program through Medicaid reimbursements, and possibly other city, state and federal funding sources.
Council member Cozey Weatherspoon said the program is long overdue. "If you just are a victim of hearing gun violence, you know, and just the trauma that goes along with the violence that happens every day in this community and other communities, I mean, you know, it's needed. It's needed. So I do stand in full support," Weatherspoon said.
The mobile mental health initiative will continue to be discussed at an upcoming council meeting.