CLEVELAND — Cleveland's first responders are always on the run, responding to 911 calls. And many of these calls involve mental health crises.
Timothy Sommerfelt has been a paramedic for 17 years.
"Medic 4, where I work over on W. 25th Street and Lorain, it does 6,000 calls a year," said Sommerfelt, secretary for the Cleveland Association of Rescue Workers.
Over the years, Sommerfelt said he's seen a recurring issue.
"We had 1,766 EMS calls from just 25 individuals last year," Sommerfelt said. "One person we took to the hospital 181 times. And it's obvious to us that if we're taking someone to the hospital 181 times, we're really not solving their problem."
The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services or ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County is taking a step to help people get the mental health care they need from the first call. The board is creating new "Care Response" teams to start a pilot program in 2024.
"Right now, we're working with a model that has teams made up of a minimum of two people. That includes a behavioral health specialist such as a social worker and a peer, an individual with lived experience, and they go through training," said Scott Osiecki, chief executive officer for the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County.
The Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees said EMS professionals should be added to those teams.
"I don't think it's ill intent, I think that it's just that it's kind of one of those this is the way we've always done it, the ADAMHS board does mental health, EMS does physical health. What we're finding is, when we go on these calls, there's often a lot of overlap," Sommerfelt said.
The ADAMHS Board is still working out finances and planning for the teams but is open to talking with the city of Cleveland and the Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees.
"We want to make sure that people that need to be at the table need to be there, so that's why I say we are definitely open to talking with the city of Cleveland, EMS, and other folks as well," Osiecki said.
The City of Cleveland said it is aware of other cities that staff social workers and EMS professionals on teams like this.
"There are current programs, one very close to home in Cincinnati that utilizes paramedics and a licensed clinician to respond to appropriate 911 calls, that are triaged in order to determine which calls police don't need to respond to," said Angela Cecys, senior strategist, Public Safety and Health for the City of Cleveland.
The call volume shows the new mental health pilot is needed. According to the ADAMHS Board, in 2022, the mental health crisis hotline received 53,621. In the first half of this year, the hotline received 37,019 calls.
"We see a way to make this better from the get-go, and get this right and give this team more tools to actually help people and get them where they need to be," Sommerfelt said.
The ADAMHS Board plans to staff social workers on the pilot teams using Frontline Services. If folks are interested in being trained as a peer with lived experience, you can call 216-241-3400 and ask about the program.
If you or someone you know is having a mental health emergency, call or text 988.
