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Aberdeen city leaders back plan to seek $200,000 for co‑response 'Aberdeen Cares' team to address homelessness and behavioral health
Summary
City staff and local service providers told the council they favor coordinated, multi‑agency response to homelessness, substance‑use disorder and behavioral‑health crises and agreed to apply for an Association of Washington Cities grant of $200,000 to stand up an 'Aberdeen Cares' co‑response team, with CAP proposing to hire two staff if funded.
Administrator Clemens told the Aberdeen City Council on June 10 that a May 8 coordination meeting of city staff and local resource organizations concluded that better interagency coordination is a practical next step to address homelessness, substance‑use disorder and untreated mental health conditions.
Clemens said participants included Coastal Community Action Program (CAP), Destination Hope and Recovery, the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Family Promise, county public health, the school district, police and fire. The groups identified gaps in transitional housing and other supports that make long‑term stabilization difficult, and they expressed support for a coordinated, scalable response model rather than leaving those cases to patrol officers or code enforcement.
"Coordination seems to be the choice for a lot of cities around the nation," Clemens said, summarizing the exercise participants completed. He said the group decided to apply to the Association of Washington Cities for a $200,000 grant to create an "Aberdeen Cares" alternative response team. If awarded, CAP would hire two additional staff and the program would include training for city personnel and partners; Clemens said the team aims to reduce arrests and custody time, increase access to non‑emergency behavioral‑health services and lower emergency‑service use.
A DSHS representative at the meeting told organizers that many clients receiving state assistance live in Aberdeen and that the city has a relatively high concentration of re‑entry housing, which shaped participants' assessment of local needs. "We have thousands upon thousands of people who use some sort of state subsidy or some sort of state assistance who live in Aberdeen," the representative said, according to Clemens' report.
Council members asked about language access and interpretation; Clemens said one police officer is bilingual and code enforcement has Spanish‑speaking staff, while sign‑language capacity is uncertain. Council members also asked staff to clarify how the team would handle transitional‑housing needs and whether the program could evolve if the city's principal needs proved to be substance‑use treatment rather than shelter.
Clemens said the group hopes to launch an initial program by October and that further curriculum and operational details will be developed if the grant is approved. He also told councilors that some invited organizations did not attend the May 8 meeting and that staff will continue outreach before formalizing the model.
The council voted later in the meeting to direct staff to pursue a workshop with local behavioral‑health partners and the Department of Health to deepen the conversation and allow a longer, focused discussion.
What happens next: staff will apply for the AWC grant and return with more detail if funding is awarded. The council also asked staff to schedule a dedicated workshop with behavioral‑health partners to flesh out operational plans and language‑access needs.
