Orange Village hears First Calls co‑responder program presentation

Mayor introduced Annette Wallace, director of the First Calls program operating out of Shaker Heights, and asked her to brief the council on a regional co‑responder model the village is considering adopting. Wallace said the program began as a 2022 pilot in Shaker Heights and now serves several neighboring cities.

Wallace described First Calls as a team model of licensed social workers and counselors, peer supports and specialists who respond alongside — but independently from — police and fire dispatch. “We received our first $400,000” in federal COPS funding to launch the effort, she said, and teams are dispatched from the 911 center to calls coded as mental‑health related, overdoses, family trouble, panhandling and other situations where a mental‑health professional can add value. She said teams travel in their own vehicles, carry radios and phones, and are able to provide follow‑up that is not limited to a single brief contact.

Council members asked whether the program works with schools and whether there is any charge to residents. Wallace said schools can provide family contact information with consent and that services to community residents currently are grant‑funded and covered by participating cities, not by individuals. She said the program is staffed by licensed clinicians and peers, currently about eight people, and that staffing would expand as new communities join.

The mayor and Council member Kim both expressed support and noted the county has indicated financial support; the mayor said Orange Village will pursue a county grant and follow the steps needed to become a participating community.

The council did not take formal action at the presentation; staff and council said they will return with the grant‑application steps and any proposed local commitment required to join the regional First Calls team.