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City presents first-year results of mental-health follow-up program; 52% of eligible calls reached
Summary
A city-funded mental-health follow-up program launched under an OhioONE grant reached 121 of 232 eligible calls (52%) in its first year, the program's lead told the Public Safety Committee. Officials outlined outreach, partnerships, and next steps including MAT induction and peer-support internships.
The Public Safety Committee on Jan. 13 heard the first-year report on the city's mental-health follow-up program, which was created with a three-year OhioONE grant to add a community outreach worker assigned to follow up on emergency mental-health and substance-use calls.
"So as of 12/31/2025, we had 232 calls that we could have followed up with. I was able to follow-up with a 121 of those calls. So that's 52%," said Leila Hille, the program's community outreach associate, describing the program's caseload and early outcomes. Hille, introduced to the committee as the grant-funded outreach worker, told members the award totaled $155,000 over three years and funded a part-time position and a field vehicle stocked with resources.
Hille described the program's work in three areas: post-discharge follow-up after emergency transport, outreach to frequent 911 callers, and social-determinants-of-health assistance such as help with utilities or transportation. She said the top follow-up categories in 2025 included alcohol-related calls, psychiatric episodes, youth suicidal ideation and dementia-related nursing-home calls. Hille said the position receives referrals from fire medics, the sheriff's office and hospital partners and that she sometimes meets patients at emergency departments or at their homes.
Committee members pressed for data on whether repeat calls have decreased; Hille said she tracks monthly statistics and flagged anyone with three or more contacts in a month as a priority for outreach. "Those repeat calls have come down quite a bit," she said, and offered to provide more specific numbers on high-contact individuals in a future report.
The program has added several operational elements in its first year: 24 medication lockboxes distributed through the health department, sensory boxes placed on ambulances for patients with autism or sensory needs, continuing education for medics on youth mental health and autism, and a partnership with local quick-response teams (QRT). Hille also said she has limited authority to write affidavits or "pink slips" in crisis cases through deputization by a local judge and training with regional clinical partners; she said that tool has been used once in a year for a person with a prolonged, serious crisis.
Committee members and staff praised the program and encouraged continued monitoring. Councilmember Neugebauer said the work bridges gaps responders see in the field, and another councilmember offered to route potential grant funds for program expansion through a local foundation. Hille said the position is part-time (about 20—to 29 hours weekly) and that broader access would require additional staffing.
Next steps the committee identified include a future report with more quantitative follow-up data and consideration of funding or staffing changes if the city seeks to expand the program.
Ending: The committee did not take a formal vote on funding; members signaled support for continued tracking and a follow-up report next year.
