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Council approves free first-year subscription to peer-support app for fire department
Summary
The council approved a one-year subscription to Ciento peer-support network for the fire department at no cost to the city in year one; the vendor will fund the first-year fee and provide help building an internal peer team, with future-year costs to be evaluated.
The East Bethel City Council on Sept. 8 approved a peer-support program for the fire department using a platform called Ciento. The fire chief described Ciento as a startup founded by a former public safety professional that provides access to a national network of peer supporters and some North Memorial peer supporters, along with tools to help the city build an internal peer-support team. The chief said the first-year subscription, "just shy of $5,400," will be funded by Ciento and therefore has no financial impact on the city this year. The chief described the platform as an option for personnel to get anonymous peer-to-peer support after traumatic incidents, with referrals to professional care when needed. The chief told councilmembers the program is not a replacement for free critical-incident teams already available but is an additional, anonymous resource. Councilmember questions focused on how many people would use the service and whether the city would incur year-two costs; the chief said the subscription is year-by-year and that staff would revisit the need and usage before committing future funds. A motion to approve the service passed by voice vote. The chief said the department would provide a brief usage report after about 12 months.
