Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Councilmember proposes advisory mental‑health and veterans committees for Pitman
Summary
Councilman Uyehara proposed two advisory committees — one to centralize mental‑health resources and explore pairing mental‑health professionals with police on crisis calls, and another to centralize veterans' resources; both were presented as advisory and unfunded initially.
Councilman Uyehara proposed forming two new advisory committees: one focused on mental health and a second focused on veterans' affairs. He described the mental‑health committee as an advisory body that would not initially require a budget and said the goal would be centralized access to resources for residents and, ultimately, a contracted mental‑health professional who could respond with police on certain calls.
“when the Police respond to a mental health crisis, it is a significant draw of resources and an exposure of liability,” Councilman Uyehara said, noting other municipalities use mental‑health professionals to respond with officers. Councilman Fitzpatrick asked whether those professionals are municipal employees; Uyehara said they are usually contracted services.
Council members did not vote on establishing the committees during the work session; the proposal was discussed as a preliminary recommendation for Council consideration and potential next steps.
