Mayor Laurie Jadwine interviewed Officer Blair Thomas on the city podcast about Gahanna's Community Liaison Officer (CLO) program, which focuses on follow-up for mental-health calls, community outreach and public trainings.

The program, launched in 2023, pairs dedicated CLOs with residents and other officers so staff can spend extra time on follow-up care and connect people to services, Thomas said. "We're more of, like, secondary helping things," Thomas said, explaining that CLOs do not count toward minimum patrol staffing and can provide extended follow-up when officers on patrol must leave for higher-priority incidents.

Why it matters: Thomas and the mayor said the city is seeing more anxiety-driven crises and that destigmatizing mental-health conversations has increased residents' willingness to seek help. To meet that demand, Gahanna relies on crisis-intervention training for all officers and additional, specialized training for CLOs, Thomas said. "We're all crisis intervention trained," she said, adding that some CLO staff also completed the Columbus Police dialogue-team training to improve listening and communication.

The CLOs also run community programs. Thomas said the department provided 16 civilian response-to-active-shooter classes this year and offers holiday-safety talks and mental-health panel discussions aimed at both youth and adults. The next mental-health open house is scheduled for Dec. 8 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Gahanna branch on Granville Street; providers will set up tables so residents can meet resources in a low-pressure setting.

On advice for families and friends, Thomas urged swift, direct outreach: "Don't wait," she said. "When you see those changes that are occurring in somebody ... ask those questions." She emphasized situational awareness and checking in when someone's baseline behavior changes.

How to reach CLOs: For nonemergency resource requests or follow-up, Thomas said residents can call the Gahanna police nonemergency line at (614) 342-4240, select option 1 and ask for a CLO (Officer Anne Joden or Officer Blair Thomas). Thomas said CLOs aim to continue and expand mental-health events next year while adjusting programming for youth and adults during the city's budget-planning process.

The podcast closed with Mayor Jadwine thanking Thomas for the work the CLOs are doing and encouraging listeners to use the department's resources.