Police department grant packet advanced: $10,000 SOAR overdose support and $155,278 for 9‑1‑1 training and personnel costs

The Central City Council Finance Committee on Oct. 7 recommended accepting multiple grants to support public safety and behavioral‑health response work in the police department.

Director Emily Wisdom described a $10,000 subrecipient award from Fenway Community Health Center (the SOAR program) that supports post‑overdose outreach, training, and limited overtime for officers involved in behavioral‑health follow‑up and jail‑diversion activities. Wisdom said the award is primarily used for programmatic expenses, outreach materials and some OT; funds are modest and intended as a supplement to other grants and department budgets.

Committee members then discussed a $155,278.38 Massachusetts State 9‑1‑1 grant to the police department to cover training costs for 9‑1‑1 certification. Wisdom said portions of the 9‑1‑1 grant pay overtime for operators to attend certification off‑duty, vendor costs for certification, and personnel costs. She also described a contract with Cataldo that will provide primary emergency dispatch services under the grant allocation.

Councilors asked whether other departments (fire, health and human services) deliver similar direct services and how the police programs coordinate with broader, city‑wide behavioral‑health and emergency response work; Wisdom said the SOAR funds and 9‑1‑1 grant can support community outreach beyond law enforcement and that staff could follow up with more detail on cross‑departmental coordination. The committee laid the grants on the table to recommend approval and included them in the final batch vote approving items 1–14.