Pilot to launch next spring will implement key recommendation from Somerville’s Public Safety for All
Task Force

SOMERVILLE – As a significant step in realizing the City’s commitment to
Public

Safety for All goals, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and Police Chief Shumeane Benford announce that
the City is preparing to launch a Co-Response Pilot Program this spring. The initiative will pair Somerville Police Department officers with trained public health professionals who will respond together to calls involving residents experiencing mental health
crises.

The new program will be the first of its kind in Somerville, designed to provide a proactive, effective,
and health-centered response to real-time behavioral health crises. Advantages of co-response include additional de-escalation capacity protecting the safety of all on scene – both individuals and officers – as well as swift service referral support for residents
in need of a range of resources.

“Too often, people in mental health crisis are left without the right kind of support in their moment of
greatest need,” said Mayor Ballantyne. “This pilot recognizes that an effective public safety approach encompasses care, dignity, and connecting people to resources. By bringing police officers and public health professionals together, we can provide the kind
of response that our community has called for and that our residents deserve.”

Chief Benford added, “Police officers are not always the best first responders for mental health emergencies,
and they know that too. Working side-by-side with public health professionals will make our response more effective and safer.”

The pilot builds on recommendations from the City’s
Public
Safety for All process, a multi-year initiative led by the Department of Racial and Social
Justice (RSJ) to reimagine public safety in Somerville.

Through surveys, listening sessions, and task force reports, residents voiced strong support for non-police
or combined responses to incidents and emergency calls involving potential behavioral health crises. A clear majority said they want social workers/public health professionals involved in these calls, a finding that directly shaped the City’s decision to move
forward with this pilot.

To turn these recommendations into action, the City recently hired its first Public Safety for All Manager,
a role dedicated to implementing the community-driven reforms outlined in the Public Safety for All reports. Advancing the co-response model is one of the first major cross-departmental steps under this new leadership.

The initiative will also build on the City’s long-standing
Community
Outreach Help & Recovery (COHR) jail diversion program, which embeds social workers and public
health professionals within the Somerville Police Department to connect individuals with services and supports that help them avoid the criminal justice system. The new pilot represents a next step, moving from follow-up and outreach to direct co-response
in real time.

Further details about the program’s structure, staffing, and community partners will be announced in the
coming months, with a launch expected in spring 2026.