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Royal Oak issues recovery and suicide-prevention proclamations; officials highlight co-responder pilot and service stats
Summary
At its Sept. 8 meeting, the commission proclaimed September 2025 as National Recovery Month and National Suicide Prevention Month locally, and staff described a co-responder mental-health pilot (roughly $60,000 per community) and quick-response team statistics showing 61 visits in 2024 with 31% of people accepting services.
Royal Oak commissioners proclaimed September 2025 as National Recovery Month and National Suicide Prevention Month on Monday and heard a briefing on local behavioral-health partnerships and programs.
The proclamations, read into the record, cited federal data about substance use and suicide and called on local organizations to increase awareness and access to services. The text referenced national surveys and CDC figures used to frame the proclamations.
Hillary Nussbaum, co-responder supervisor with Oakland Community Health Network (OCHN), said OCHN is contracted by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to lead a network of providers that serves about 30,000 Oakland County residents at more than 400 service sites. "OCHN's goal is to ensure these individuals are aware of and have access to services and supports that improve their health and quality of life," Nussbaum said.
In the commission—s regular updates, Commissioner Gaucho highlighted the co-responder pilot program that pairs behavioral-health responders with police in the field. He said the pilot is expensive to operate ("about $60,000" per participating community) and that seed funding from Oakland County is close to expiration, so long-term operations will require planning for sustainable funding.
Gaucho also cited quick-response-team activity for the last full year (2024), saying the program made 61 visits and that roughly 31% of those visited accepted services; he noted distribution of Narcan kits by police through the program. "Those are great numbers," Gaucho said while urging continued support.
Other updates during the "10 from the top" briefing included an announcement about a CoreWell ambulatory-care facility groundbreaking with an estimated opening in 2027, the city's Dutch Elm disease annual management program, progress on short-term-rental identification tools, a brief budget-in-brief posting and upcoming employee culture and leadership activities.
