Crisis on hold: Columbus City Council's million-dollar nonpolice response pilot program yet to take a call

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Columbus City Council approved $1.2 million in February to create a nonpolice response pilot program for non-violent service calls that included responding to people having a mental health crisis.

"We need individuals who are trained appropriately," Disability Rights Ohio executive director Kerstin Sjoberg said. "Trained professionals that can respond to a mental health crisis."

A framework for the program was created by several local advocacy groups. The plan put people on the front lines answering calls who have first-hand knowledge and experience on how to respond to a mental health crisis, substance abuse problem, or non-violent incident.

Nine months after the money for the non-police response program was given the green light by city council, advocacy groups still wait for the pilot project to launch.

"So far, no meaningful action has occurred to implement that." said Sjoberg, "there really hasn’t been any reason given. There’ s been a lot of questions, discussions, listening sessions, but no commitment to work on the program."

"Sometimes it's just scary to just see the uniform, when you think, you are going to see a paramedic," Chana Wiley says the nonpolice response program would've helped her brother Jaron Thomas, 37, when he was having a mental health crisis in 2017.

Thomas, a father of three, died in police custody when he called 911 to be taken to the hospital while having a psychiatric episode.

"I definitely believe there wouldn't have been excessive force if we had a nonpolice response team in place," said Wiley.

ABC 6 reached out to Columbus City Council to get an update on the pilot program and to find out what happened to the cash allocated for the project.

Council provided us with the following statement:

City Council supports the Columbus Safety Collective’s vision for a nonpolice response team to address mental health, substance abuse, and other nonviolent crises. President Hardin and Safety Chair Remy hosted a public hearing on October 3 to review the work of the City’s existing four Alternative Crisis Response teams. This hearing included the Right Response Unit that in 2022 handled 2,386 calls, half were handled without Police Officers or Fire Fighters being dispatched. Hardin and Remy also convened a roundtable meeting on October 11 with local advocates, including the Columbus Safety Collective, to discuss how best to allocate the $1.2 M secured in the 2023 budget. We plan to use the funds to bring in outside experts to help the City plan for the growth of crisis response and to pilot a fully-nonpolice (as opposed to co-responder) unit.

Mayor Ginther proposed $7.2 million for these Alternative Response units in 2024, and in the coming months, the council will review these budgets for any additional funding to supplement the teams.

"All of these teams working together are critical to getting residents the right resources when they face a mental health and addiction crises in their lives, homes, and neighborhoods," he said. "We know these efforts will save lives and create a safer and more compassionate community."

Until the nonpolice response program hits the streets, advocacy groups say they will continue to push for the promised services.

"There's a lot of frustration at this point. The money has been there for nine months," said Sjoberg, "we haven't seen any meaningful commitment by city leadership to implement the program, and we need it now."