The Mental Health Response Advisory Committee launches public survey and community input sessions to gather information for Cleveland Police policy recommendations

The Mental Health Response Advisory Committee (MHRAC) announced that it is seeking input from the public on “crisis situations” that involve the Cleveland Police to gather information that will be used to help develop police policies. The MHRAC, in partnership with the City of Cleveland, Cleveland Division of Police and the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board of Cuyahoga County, launched an online survey and has organized three “community input sessions” open to all members of the public. The settlement agreement that the City signed with the Department of Justice describes “crisis situations” as incidents that involve mental illness, addiction, substance abuse, developmental disabilities or some other overwhelming personal crisis.

“We want people to tell us about their experiences that involved both the Cleveland Police and a mental health, addiction or some other personal crisis,” explained William M. Denihan, Chair of the MHRAC and Chief Executive Officer of the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County.  “Learning from these experiences will help our committee craft and recommend police policies that will help to make our communities safer for everyone.”                                                     

“Using an online survey and hosting these three events gives everyone an opportunity to participate in the Committee’s work,” noted Edward Eckart, Jr., Vice-chair of the MHRAC and Assistant Director of Public Safety for the City of Cleveland.

Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams joined Mr. Denihan, and Mr. Eckart in encouraging the public to complete the survey and join these community input sessions. “Cleveland Police support and welcome every opportunity to strengthen this committee’s work with public input and guidance,” he said. “We want to improve the way that our officers respond to crisis situations, and that means learning from the people who have been involved in those situations in the past.”

"The Justice Department encourages anyone who lives or works in Cleveland to participate in this open process," Acting U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon said. “The City and the Cleveland Police are building the foundations of trust and dialogue with the people they serve.  It requires an honest conversation about these types of crisis situations.”

Online Survey:

The online survey can be accessed by visiting http://bit.ly/CLECrisisResponseSurvey.  It will be open through Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

Hard Copies of the Survey:

People can download and print the survey by visiting http://bit.ly/print_CLECrisisResponseSurvey. Completed surveys must be mailed or returned by Wednesday, March 23, 2016, to:

ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County
c/o MHRAC Survey

2012 West 25^th Street, 6^th Floor

Cleveland, OH 44113

Three Community Input Sessions:

1. Southeast Side: Wednesday, March 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Community Assessment & Treatment Services (CATS), 8411 Broadway Avenue, Cleveland OH 44105.

2. Northeast / Central: Saturday, March 19^th, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Tri-C Jerry Sue Thornton Center (formerly the Visiting Nurses Association), 2500 East 22^nd Street, Cleveland OH 44115.

3. West Side: Wednesday, March 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Stella Maris, 1320 Washington Avenue, Cleveland OH 44113