Rep. Sykes Announces $460,000 to the City of Akron
AKRON, OH – U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) announced the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded $459,442 to the City of Akron to establish a more effective and responsive approach to addressing mental health needs in the community while promoting public health and safety through the Summit County Outreach Team (SCOUT) Program.
“I am pleased to announce this vital funding for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, which will be used to improve the safety of our communities and continue to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve. Law enforcement is often asked to respond to a wide variety of emergencies, including mental health emergencies. Not every emergency should be responded to in the same way, and the SCOUT Program is an important partnership that helps ensure those going through a mental health emergency get the help and support they need,” said Rep. Sykes.
“We have already seen tremendous results from the SCOUT Program, proving its need for our community. This grant will allow us to broaden our SCOUT Team's services by adding additional hours for the team and purchasing more advanced technology. We are grateful to continue this partnership with the ADM Board and Portage Path Behavioral Health to continue to provide a high-quality response to members of our community experiencing a mental health crisis,” said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik.
Operated collaboratively by the City of Akron, the Summit County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, and Portage Path Behavioral Health, the SCOUT Program uses a co-responder model to address mental health crises in the community. The primary goal of the project is to improve responses to and outcomes for individuals with mental health disorders or co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders who come into contact with the criminal justice system.
With this funding, the City of Akron aims to enhance the effectiveness of the SCOUT Program by:
- developing and implementing a planning phase to enhance the SCOUT Program and incorporating initiatives such as Street Smart, a data-driven tool providing valuable insights from prior calls and incidents; and
- exploring the temporary assignment of an officer to the SCOUT Team to ensure consistency and effectiveness.