The Essex County OPP Detachment Boards were awarded a $710,089 grant from the provincial government to improve community safety.
The grant will allow Mobile Response Team to expand to seven days a week throughout the region. This team partners front-line officers with subject matter experts from Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare to respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis.
"The success of the mental health response team has proven itself over the last few years by the statistics of how many people have been diverted from the emergency rooms," said Board Chair Paul Sweet.
He indicated the program also helps to keep frontline officers on the road to respond to other community safety initiatives.
The second part of the grant will go toward toward enhanced training for officers to address local priorities like mental health, addictions & community safety, community engagement, and traffic enforcement.
“The “Stronger Together: Enhancing Crisis Response, Community Safety, Public Engagement, and Traffic Enforcement in Essex County” initiative shows the value of working closely with Municipalities, the Windsor-Essex Regional Community Safety and Well-Being (RCSWB) Plan, and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU). By aligning our efforts, we are addressing key local priorities; Mental Health, Addictions & Community Safety, Community Engagement, and Traffic Enforcement, which enhances community safety and responds to the needs of residents," said Essex County OPP Superintendent Mark Loucas.
