Community Mental Health Crisis Response Contract

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

What: resolution 26-718 (item 10.36) authorizing competitive contracting for a community mental health crisis response to 911 and similar calls.
Where it stands: adopted 9-0 on October 21 as a late item; the request for proposals is to be advertised for 20 days.
Next: teams to be in the field ideally before the winter holidays.

Late item 10.36 (resolution 26-718) authorizes competitive contracting for a contract to set up a community mental health crisis response to 911 and other calls where behavioral health is the reported issue. It was added 7-0 and adopted 9-0.
Little presented it, saying the updated request for proposals reflects community meetings with faith leaders, mental health advocates, city health officials, and people with lived experience, including family members of Drew Washington. She said the item is late because the mandatory 20-day advertising window means the teams could not reach the field before the winter holidays if it waited a meeting. The resolution only authorizes competitive contracting; it does not approve the request for proposals.
Ephros thanked Little, the administration and advocates who pushed for this for years. A public speaker thanked the council and hoped it is "a true step forward and not another false start."

About 4 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-21 - Municipal Council	4

2026-10-21 - Municipal Council - Late item added 7-0 and adopted 9-0; Little explained the community process and timeline.