AKRON, Ohio — Wearing gray Polo shirts and khaki pants, three Akron paramedics, an Akron police officer and a clinician with Portage Path Behavioral Health were introduced as part of a new team dedicated to helping people experiencing mental health crises.
A pilot program called SCOUT, which stands for Summit County Outreach Team, was publicly announced Tuesday at Fire Station 4 on W. Thornton Street.
In 2023, Akron City Council voted to authorize the city to enter into a contract with the ADM Board for the program.
The contract purchased a vehicle for SCOUT, equipment and uniforms.
Autumn Goffinet, the clinician on the team, said there is a definite need in the community, and she takes her role personally.
"I grew up with a parent, a father, and he struggled with mental health and addiction, and ultimately, lost his life to that," Goffinet said. "It's definitely something that I find near and dear to my heart."
The team, dispatched by 911, works Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
They respond to calls in Akron where mental health is a concern, but the individual is not a danger to himself or others.
"They can best be handled without using force, and with a specially-trained professional, are less traumatizing to individuals," said Dr. Tracy Yaeger, the president and CEO of Portage Path Behavioral Health.
Officer Louis Peit, who is also on SCOUT, believes having a clinician on the scene to help de-escalate a situation will reduce the possibility of any use of force.
"They're still gonna see me, but they're gonna see the clinician and be able to talk to her and maybe they respond a little bit better," Petit said.
The program also aims to reduce the number of calls in the city by officers in cruisers and paramedics in ambulances. SCOUT will be utilized to provide crisis intervention, counseling or links to resources to people facing a mental health crisis.
"They'll be going to low-acuity calls though, so what it will do, it will basically intercept the calls that we were traditionally sending an ambulance and a police cruiser on," said Akron Fire Chief Joseph Natko.
Yaeger believes programs like SCOUT are crucial right now because of a growing need to provide mental health support.
"We are seeing increases in different demographics in suicides, calls for help, anxiety disorders among young people. The numbers are really increasing on a regular basis," she said.
Data will be collected from the calls and analyzed. The hope is the pilot program will eventually be expanded to more shifts during the day and in other Summit County communities.
"It is going to be something that as we get the data each day, we are actually kind of figuring out what the path of his pilot program is going forward," said Mayor Shammas Malik.
Goffinet plans to build a rapport with the people she meets on the calls and treat them the way she would want to be treated.
She expects challenges along the way but is also excited to help anyone who needs it.
"If I can do anything to reduce other people continuing to go through that or alleviate some of the symptoms, that's my goal."
