Hayward seeks nonprofit partner to advise on 911 response to people experiencing mental illness, substance-use disorders and homelessness

HAYWARD, Calif., Nov. 11, 2021—The City of Hayward is seeking a nonprofit organization serving people with mental illness, substance-use disorders and experiencing homelessness that can help enhance how the City responds to 911 emergency calls.

Through a new pilot project called the Hayward Evaluation and Response Teams (HEART) Program, the Hayward Police and Fire Departments are working to establish an integrated continuum of options allowing for the most appropriate responses to calls to the Hayward 911 dispatch center.

The goal of the HEART Program is to improve access to medical, mental health and other support services—and reduce the need for police officers to intervene in calls for service involving people experiencing mental illness, substance-use disorders, and homelessness.

The current program approach entails deploying two different mobile response teams: a Mobile Integrated Health Unit (MIHU), which pairs a Hayward firefighter-paramedic with a mental health clinician from a community-based organization, and a Mobile Evaluation Team (MET), which pairs a specifically trained Hayward Police Officer with a behavioral health clinician from Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services.

As a next step, the City seeks to partner with a nonprofit organization equipped to bring to the HEART Program the perspectives of people with lived experiences of mental illness, substance-use disorders, and homelessness to help identify and make recommendations to close gaps in the program.

Interested organizations are encouraged to review and respond by Dec. 10 to the formal Request for Information (RFI), which is available here on the City of Hayward website.  Responses to the RFI should be directed to Emily Young, Psy.D., Project Manager, at emily.young@hayward-ca.gov.  Questions can be directed to Dr. Young at (510) 293-7048 and by email at emily.young@hayward-ca.gov.