The city of olympia, WA faces a multifaceted crisis of factors related to homelessness, the opioid epidemic, lack of available mental health services, and challenges within the legal system to provide…

The City of Olympia, WA received a $1,000,000 Project Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and other Substance Use Program (CFDA 16.838). The funding will support two key activities:

1. Training for city-employed first responders, such as crisis workers, firefighters, and paramedics, to enhance their skills and provide tools to address secondary trauma during crisis response.

2. Expansion of a diversion program and the creation of an adult mental health services program operated by Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. This will increase capacity for relationship-based support, mental health treatment, and psychiatric medication management for community members impacted by behavioral health issues and criminal justice involvement.

The project aims to improve direct referral pathways from first responders to appropriate services, creating a more compassionate and effective response to address the community's challenges related to homelessness, the opioid epidemic, lack of mental health resources, and low-level criminal activity. A comprehensive evaluation will be conducted by researchers at Washington State University throughout the 3-year project period ending on September 30, 2026.

The city of olympia, WA faces a multifaceted crisis of factors related to homelessness, the opioid epidemic, lack of available mental health services, and challenges within the legal system to provide holistic solutions that address the needs of people engaging in low-level criminal activity. By investing in intentional collaboration between local government, social services providers, and research professionals, the city of olympia believes these challenges can be addressed in a compassionate, evidenced-based way to help reduce the strain on emergency management and create opportunities for success among people impacted by behavioral health issues and criminal justice involvement. There are two primary activities of the proposed project: training for city-employed first responders, and support for case management, peer support, and mental health services for community members. The training topics outlined in this proposal support the continuing education of crisis workers, firefighters, and paramedics during times of crisis, along with tools and resources to cope with the immense secondary trauma they experience that often leads to high burnout. The expansion of capacity in both hours of operation and caseload of a diversion program operated by catholic community services of western washington, and the creation of an adult mental health program within the same agency, will provide meaningful solutions to the long-term needs of the community. By utilizing a coordinated approach, the city seeks to improve direct referral pathways from highly competent and well-resourced first responders to appropriate resources for relationship-based support, creating a compassionate and effective response to a community-wide struggle. Throughout the course of the project, a comprehensive process and outcome evaluation will be conducted by a highly-qualified research team at washington state university. The project partners anticipate outcomes that include measurable increases in perceived and demonstrated skills for first responders, increased client contacts within the diversion program, the existence and operation of a community-based mental health program providing individual and group therapy, peer services, and psychiatric medication management, and decreased dispatch call volume for behavioral health incidents.