Project Hope program uses behavioral‑health officers to steer people from jail, county presenter says

At the meeting the committee heard a report on Project Hope, a collaboration aimed at diverting people with behavioral‑health needs from the criminal justice system.

A county presenter described Project Hope as "a collaboration between Menominee City Police and our sheriff's office," funded by a mix of federal and state grants. The program assigns specially trained officers — identified in the presentation as Officer Dylan Crist and Aaron Berg — paired with grant‑funded caseworker partners to respond to encounters where mental‑health, substance‑use or housing instability would otherwise risk arrest or jail.

The presenter said those teams help link individuals to longer‑term services such as human services, veterans services and aging and disability resources. The county is one of the state's pilot sites for Wisconsin’s deflection initiative and is partnering with Texas Christian University for an impact study; the presenter said the program is "baby steps" but has produced surprising improvements in public trust and fewer custody outcomes in early months of operation.

A committee member praised Officer Dylan Crist and urged the county to expand mental‑health coverage, saying, "Dunn County really doesn't cover mental illness very well." The presenter acknowledged limited community services and said the two officers and caseworker partners are trying to close service gaps, including for older adults with dementia who may fall through existing systems.

No formal action or budget change on Project Hope was recorded in the meeting minutes; the discussion was a program update.