Akron is launching a pilot co-responder program to respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis.
The Summit County Outreach Team initiative consists of paramedics, police officers and behavioral health specialists who all have Crisis Intervention Team training.
The team will respond to calls flagged by a dispatcher or by CIT officers in the field where mental health is a concern but the person is not a danger to themselves or others, Portage Path Behavioral Health President and CEO Tracy Yaeger said.
“This team will provide an innovative response to individuals in crisis in our community," she said.
Thousands of law enforcement agencies across the country use a co-responder model, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance. These programs have been found to improve safety, decrease use of force instances, increase use of crisis services, decrease repeat encounters with the criminal justice system, reduce costs and improve community relations.
This method will be better for first responders and the community, Yaeger added.
"They can best be handled without using force and with a specially trained professional, are less traumatizing to individuals," she said.
During his campaign, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik ran on a platform of public safety, calling for the city to implement a co-responder program.
Malik said he realized there was a need for a different option to respond to mental health crises firsthand when he experienced a man having a mental health crisis.
"In that moment, our option was to do nothing or call police so we called the police and because of our legacy of CIT training asked for a CIT officer to respond, which they did," he said. "But in that moment it was very clear to me that, while that was a suitable response, it's possible there could be a better response."
Although a police officer will be part of SCOUT, they won't be leading the calls, Malik said.
"The officer will be in the rear to provide safety if it's necessary," he said.
The Akron Fire Department responds to about 15 mental health calls a day, Chief Joseph Natko said.
"Last year, in 2023, in Akron Fire alone, we went over 5,000 mental health calls in the city, and that's just us," he said. "That's just us responding. We know those numbers, but there are many other incidents that occur that probably don't get reported."
The team will be responding to calls Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm with the goal of expanding hours as time goes on, County of Summit Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board Executive Director Aimee Wade said.
Similar programs across the country have seen positive results, Yaeger said.
"All of this combined leads to better outcomes and, when possible, avoids and reduces hospitalizations and incarceration," she said.
The team will evaluate how they’re doing on an ongoing basis, ADM Board Medical Director Dr. Doug Smith said.
“As we get the data, we’ll look at the data, and we’ll see is it decreasing calls," he explained.
Data will include clinical information, demographic information, what was done on the call and the outcome, Smith said.
"We don't expect it, but they will definitely track if there's any need for use of force, did they need to call in other backup supports," he said. "They'll talk about the sense of what the mental illness symptoms were or substance use symptoms."
The city is committed to releasing a summary of the data to the public to show how the pilot is going, Malik said.
The goal is to eventually expand the program beyond Akron, Wade said.
"Down the road, this pilot will look to be perfected to be spread across the county," she said.
The program is a collaboration between Akron, the ADM Board and Portage Path Behavioral Health, the city said.
