Office of Community Health and Safety
Letter from the Assistant Director
The City of Pittsburgh created the Office of Community Health and Safety to connect our most vulnerable neighbors with the right services to make our city safer and more just. Our mission is to serve marginalized communities that have been systematically isolated from society and victimized by an unjust system. Through the tireless work of our frontline workers, public safety liaisons, and subject matter experts we aim to address the needs of those living in poverty, experiencing homelessness or housing instability, substance use disorder, and mental or behavioral health challenges. It is our goal that our most vulnerable residents can be embraced by their neighbors and welcomed back in their communities.
The Office of Community Health & Safety has piloted novel yet best-practice driven programs such as Co-Response, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, Trauma Survivor’s Assistance, People In Need of Support, Post Overdose Support Team, and Reaching Out On The Streets. From helping family survivors of suicide and gun violence to those experiencing homelessness, each of these programs focuses on centering individual needs and reducing harm.
The Office of Community Health and Safety was announced in 2020, and since then we have sought not only to support community members who need assistance but do so in a financially responsible manner. We have successfully applied for numerous state and federal grants, funding our Post Overdose Support Team and Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program through federal funding mechanisms. Our partners in the Pittsburgh Bureaus of Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Services are also indispensable as we connect community members who utilize 911 with longer term support.
Central to our mission is to listen to the voices of all our community members and ensure that our programs serve those in need, especially those who have experienced historical and structural inequities and discrimination. Our programs are all voluntary, person centered, trauma informed and built on the principles of harm reduction. We are a team of Community Social Workers, Police Officers, Firefighters, Paramedics, EMTs, programming staff, and most of all – all passionate Pittsburgh residents working towards common goals. Though the challenges we face are formidable, with the partnership of communities throughout the City of Pittsburgh we are confident we can truly make Pittsburgh a safer, healthier, and more equitable city.
Camila Alarcon-Chelecki
Assistant Director, Office of Community Health & Safety
About Our Programs
Continuum of Support (COS)
Through continued collaboration with first responders and community members, analysis of calls for service, mapping of existing services, development of new partnerships, and evaluation of existing models, the Office of Community Health & Safety (OCH&S) will improve upon the existing continuum of resources and responses to address community unmet social service needs that are often encountered by Public Safety partners. First responder social support referrals, case conferencing and review, and service gap analysis will be utilized to enhance this continuum. Co-Response, People In Need of Support (PINS), and the Trauma Survivor’s Assistance Program (TSAP) constitute the Continuum of Support and additional information regarding each of those programs is directly below.
Contact
Katelyn Zeak
Social Work Manager
Katelyn.Zeak@pittsburghpa.gov
Co-Response
The Co-Response program has been developed to provide the “right responders” to individuals who are experiencing a mental health or behavioral crisis. Teams consist of a Community Social Worker and dedicated Pittsburgh Bureau of Police officer who are dispatched to co-respond to individuals in crisis. Through trust-building and the provision of services, Co-Response seeks to reduce the propensity for individuals who experience mental and behavioral health crises to engage in violent behavior and become involved in the criminal justice system. Through the reduction in use of force, the program also aims to increase both the officer and community member’s safety. This will be supported by training Co-Response Officers on Crisis Response Intervention Training (CRIT), a national best-practice model rolled out by the Department of Justice.
People In Need of Support
The PINS program developed as a partnership between the three Public Safety Bureaus and the Office of Community Health & Safety. First responders identify and refer City residents who frequently utilize 9-1-1 services to meet their basic needs, as well as individuals who may be vulnerable to harm and need follow up. Community Social Workers and Public Safety liaisons conduct home visits to assess the health and social needs of these residents and develop a plan to link the residents to services and resources (including CIT and FBI cases). High utilizers also known as "frequent flyers" who disproportionately utilize 9-1-1 services place strain upon the emergency response system. By connecting these individuals to long-term services and supports, we relieve pressure on the systems in place to assist people who experience crises. Nationally, these programs are known to provide systems-level cost-savings.
Trauma Survivors Assistance Program
The Trauma Survivors Assistance Program (TSAP) is a partnership between the Office of Community Health & Safety (OCHS) and the three Bureaus of Public Safety. TSAP social workers engage with victims of crime and survivors of trauma to provide emotional support and link them to appropriate trauma and crisis response services to stabilize them and begin the process of healing. TSAP also provides community trauma response following shootings and other instances of violence, providing a supportive debriefing space and linkage to resources in a larger group setting.
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) is an effective, replicable, and equitable diversion method that provides individuals with intense case management. It is a client-based approach that provides people with substance use disorder and mental and behavioral health challenges, experiencing homelessness and poverty with person-centered social services and intense case management focused on harm reduction and compassion in lieu of criminalization. The goal of LEAD is to break with traditional methods rooted in coercion and punishment to address the needs of individuals experiencing poverty, homelessness, substance use disorder, and mental and behavioral health challenges. LEAD combats racial and ethnic disparities within the criminal-legal system that have been perpetuated by harmful systems, stigmatization and lack of access to services. The initiative ignites a pathway towards criminal justice reform specifically to end harmful policing and criminalizing minorities and vulnerable populations. The mission of LEAD for the City of Pittsburgh is to reduce criminal-legal system engagement, promote individual agency, and provide care and support to people who use drugs, people with mental and behavioral health challenges, and people experiencing homelessness through person-centered social services. LEAD will combat racial and ethnic disparities within the criminal-legal system that have been perpetuated by harmful systems, stigmatization, and lack of access to services. LEAD is currently operating in Zones 1 and 2 and will be expanding to other zones.
Contact
Stephen Gress
LEAD Program Manager
Stephen.Gress@pittsburghpa.gov
Post Overdose Support Team (POST)
The Post Overdose Support Team (POST) responds to overdoses with teams of certified peer recovery specialists (CPRSs) and case managers to reach individuals at the time of interception with public safety personnel. The response aims to enable the POST team to foster a connection that places the individual in a deescalated state following the overdose, allowing us to begin the work of providing service connections that can lead to long-term recovery. Many people who have overdosed refuse transport to the hospital by EMS. This affords the POST team its opportunity. Trust-building that follows de-escalation is an integral initial step in order to facilitate the willingness of the individual to continue to engage POST staff after EMS has departed. to ensure that the provision of service connections and system navigation may continue. The responding team and follow-up case management staff identifies its primary goals to support safety, recovery, and to provide service connections that aim to treat substance use and/or co-occurring mental health disorders.
Contact
Heidi Allison
POST Program Manager
Heidi.M.Allison@pittsburghpa.gov
Reaching Out On The Streets (ROOTS)
The Reaching Out On The Streets (ROOTS) Program aims to reduce the prevalence of homelessness by addressing the social determinants of health, opening opportunities for personal agency, and intervening in critical moments of crisis to reduce criminal legal interactions, increase access to services, and reduce fatal overdoses. ROOTS will incorporate two components at full implementation: street outreach and drop-in sites. The staffing plan and organization align to support these programs. Interdisciplinary Zone Teams will meet the needs of individuals within the hyper-local scope of available services. Interdisciplinary Zone Teams include members from street outreach, sites, and diversion programs that coordinate participant care and are adaptable to complex needs; such as, human services, drug and alcohol treatment, housing, healthcare, behavioral health, and criminal legal navigation.
Contact
Ben Talik
ROOTS Program Manager
Benjamin.Talik@pittsburghpa.gov
Community Engagement and Partnership
Continued community engagement, transparency, and accountability to the community and first responders is critical to building trust and facilitating change in the current response continuum. OCH&S will continue to sustain a collaborative model of program development and evaluation, prioritizing continuous review to ensure that deficits are quickly addressed and used for growth. OCH&S will partner with existing community organizations and prioritize community members who have been harmed and may not engage in traditional meetings. Initial efforts will focus on creation of multiple advisory collaboratives focused on Black neighborhoods most harmed by the war on drugs and systemic racism. The Office of Community Health and Safety community engagement team seeks to build relationships and trust between the office and diverse communities in the City of Pittsburgh while leveraging best practices in community outreach and community engagement. Staff will accomplish their mission by developing programs and other initiatives in partnership with the community to enhance the quality of life, safety, and security of our community.
Contact
Malaysia Smith
Community Partnership Specialist
Malaysia.Smith@pittsburghpa.gov
Contact Us
For general inquiries, please contact Devlin Iaquinta at Devlin.Iaquinta@pittsburghpa.gov.
Annual Report
OCH&S 2023 Annual Report(PDF, 5MB)