Marlborough Police Divert People with Mental Illness from Arrest, ER
Last year there were 365 individuals who would have otherwise landed in jail if it wasn't for the Marlborough Police Department's Jail Diversion Program.
Advocates, Inc. recently completed a three-year, $201,828 grant with the Foundation to create a Jail Diversion Program in Marlborough. Marlborough replicated its program after the state's first Jail Diversion Program launched a decade ago in Framingham.
 | | Sarah Abbott |
"People have recognized for many years that the police are often the first to encounter people in crisis, " said Sarah Abbott, jail diversion program director at Advocates, Inc. which partnered with police in Framingham and Marlborough.
To read more about the Jail Diversion Program, visit the MW Health Blog called "Intervention Instead of Incarceration."
|
NAMI receives $20K Grant
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts (NAMI) received a $20,000 grant from the Foundation to create guidelines for a new statewide policy requiring police officers to be trained to respond to people with mental health issues.
While Jail Diversion Programs have reduced the number of arrests among people with mental illness, not every department can afford to start its own program. As a result, NAMI is proposing that police officers receive training in crisis intervention and behavioral health issues.
NAMI will form a committee of criminal justice and behavioral health experts who will devise guidelines and a curriculum to be used in all law enforcement academies across the state.
|
Research Roundup
Youth Tobacco Study The U.S. Surgeon General released a report called Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults that found more than 3.6 million kids smoke cigarettes. Other findings include: - For every tobacco-related death two new young people under the age of 26 become regular smokers.
- Nearly 90 percent of these replacement smokers try their first cigarette by 18.
- Three out of four high school smokers continue to smoke well into adulthood.
Philanthropy Practices Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) released a national study asking "Is Grantmaking Getting Smarter?" One of the major changes grantmakers reported making in the last three years was reducing multiyear grants. - About 28 percent of funders said they decreased dollars for multiyear support due to the economy.
- More than half (54 percent) of those who decreased their multiyear commitments said the changes were temporary due to the economy.
|
Foundation Corner
The Town of Natick received a check from the Foundation for the purchase of exercise and medical equipment for the new Community Senior Center.
Pictured from left to right are:Leonard Morse Grants Panel members Dennis Barr and John Gastaldo; Chairman of Natick Board of Selectmen Charlie Hughes; Chairman of MetroWest Health Foundation Marty Cohen; Jane Williams of the Leonard Morse Grants Panel; Community Services Director Dick Cugini; Leonard Morse Grants Panel member Jay Ball and Foundation Board member Joel Barrera.
|
