PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - Plans are in place for Pittsburgh's new Office of Community Health and Safety.
Mayor Bill Peduto says it will assist first responders when they come across a situation that would benefit from housing social services, public health and social work experts.
It will operate under the Public Safety Department and Mayor's Office, who will work with city council to determine funding sources for the new office.
The goals of the office are to:
- Develop community health and safety priorities and areas of focus based on community input and areas of need most frequently encountered by public safety personnel.
- Establish a group of community health and safety advisors made up of public health leaders to advise, educate, support and inform on best practices for sustainable social and health support in city programs, policies and legislation.
- Conduct regular trainings with all public safety personnel designed in collaboration between staff, experts and communities to ensure first responders are prepared to appropriately engage with complex situations that may require additional harm reduction support.
- Collaborate with higher education programs throughout the city to provide training opportunities for social work students to help respond to community needs.
The preliminary areas of focus for community support include:
- Racism
- Violence
- Poverty
- Environmental Health
- Mental Health
- Homelessness
- Problematic Substance Use and Overdose Prevention
- Training and Education
- Criminal Justice Reform & Re-entry
- Youth Engagement
- Community Paramedicine and Decreasing Public Safety Overutilization
- Trans-health and Wellbeing
- Jurisdictional Inequity
- Harm Reduction
- Maternal-Child Health
- Suicide Prevention
- Supports for Those Who Are Differently Abled
"Our public safety personnel are available 24/7 but often go into situations that are beyond the scope of their training. The individuals and communities they encounter need help beyond law enforcement or emergency medical attention," Mayor William Peduto said. "This office will allow public safety to step back and determine what kind of support an individual or family needs and get them that help through social workers or other agencies so that we're seeing people holistically and connecting them with more sustainable resources and assistance."
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