By: Andy Kozlowski | Madison-Park News | Published November 25, 2024
MADISON HEIGHTS/HAZEL PARK — A new program has launched in Madison Heights, Hazel Park, Ferndale and Royal Oak. The Co-Response Community Outreach Program sees their respective police departments partner with specialists who render aid, referrals and other resources to those suffering from mental health issues, substance use disorders and other challenges.
Also known as “CoRe,” it is a collaboration between local police and Oakland Community Health Network. OCHN provides two clinicians who accompany police to crisis scenes where an individual may be suicidal or suffering a breakdown, threatening violence to themselves or others. The clinicians help police to de-escalate the situation, and just as crucially provide follow-up that improve the odds of treatment.
At the Madison Heights City Council meeting Oct. 28, Madison Heights Police Chief Brent LeMerise spoke about the program alongside Hillary Nusbaum, who supervises the program at OCHN. Also present was Alyssa Waters, one of the clinicians for the four cities. The other clinician, Sabrina Fallone, spoke at the Royal Oak City Council meeting the same night.
“The co-responders have an expertise in social work, and they provide a more specialized approach beyond the traditional law enforcement response,” LeMerise said. “As a law enforcement officer serving Madison Heights for nearly 22 years now, I have personally observed the limitations of our field and the temporary solutions we offer. With the co-responder program, the Madison Heights Police Department can offer more of a comprehensive and compassionate solution to our citizens.”
Nusbaum explained that OCHN is the public behavioral health system for Oakland County and serves about 29,000 residents annually with mental health, substance use disorder, and support services for the intellectually and developmentally disabled.
“You can think of us as a safety net for some of the most vulnerable members of our society,” Nusbaum said.
The CoRe initiative started in 2021 and has since served communities such as Auburn Hills, Birmingham, Bloomfield Township and Rochester Hills. The program began taking referrals for Madison Heights, Hazel Park, Ferndale and Royal Oak on Sept. 2.
The initial cost of the program is $245,000, with an annual recurring cost of about $240,000 that includes the salary and wages for clinicians, vehicle reimbursements, and equipment including radios, computers and cellphones. The cost is shared by the four communities. In December 2023, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved a grant to OCHN for the program. Each city will receive funding for one year, as long as they commit to sustaining the program in the future.
“I’m curious about the efficacy,” said Madison Heights City Councilman David Soltis. “I know this is just up and running, but you’ve been at it throughout other cities. Do you have that type of data to show how effective it is, in the short term and long term?”
Nusbaum replied that Wayne State University reached out to OCHN about a year after the CoRe program first started and analyzed outcome data for the first three cities of Auburn Hills, Birmingham and Bloomfield Township.
“With use of force (by police), for those three departments, there was only 9% use of force in that first year, and with the co-responders on the scene, it reduced that to just 5%,” Nusbaum said. “So it doesn’t sound staggering, but it does make a difference. And that was just looking at the first year with just one co-responder.”
Waters described a recent case where she was able to help de-escalate the situation for a peaceful resolution.
“This individual had experienced some instance of intimate partner violence. There are some aspects of that where gender plays a huge role. And I was able to fit into that role and bring that level of stress down, so we could have a more logical conversation rather than speaking with emotions,” Waters said. “Just that simple token of, ‘I’m going to help you pull the emotions off this, so we can actually talk about what’s happening,’ is how we got them into the ambulance to the hospital and now further services. It was just me showing up and saying, ‘Hey, I’m here — let’s talk about what’s happening behind the scenes.’”
Madison Heights City Councilman Quinn Wright asked if the program interferes in any way with the work of police officers. LeMerise assured him it does not.
“Of course, if we can get co-responders there when they’re on duty, we will, but if we can’t, we’ll continue to do what (we) would normally do,” LeMerise said. “The hope is that we can get them there, and we’re of course there to keep them safe while they’re on the scene de-escalating things.”
The chief also shared a success story that he personally witnessed.
“There was an individual sleeping behind a business. They encountered the police, and I was able to watch body cam footage of this. And I noticed the individual, he appeared to be homeless and definitely had some mental health issues — it was pretty evident on my review. I was able to attain his email address and actually communicate with him, asking if he was interested in our (CoRe) program. And I couldn’t believe it, but within 30 minutes he responded saying, ‘Absolutely — I don’t want to be on the streets.’ Shortly thereafter, I contacted OCHN.”
“(They said) ‘Yep, he’s accepted treatment.’ It’s a cool story, and I hope to have more and more like that. I’m very excited to see where this thing goes,” LeMerise said.