Somerville Launches Mental Health Co-Response Pilot

Somerville police have begun a pilot that sends a public health professional alongside officers to some 911 calls involving people in mental or behavioral health crisis, according to a city announcement published May 29. The program, called the Co-Response Pilot Program, pairs the Somerville Police Department with a clinician from the city’s Community Outreach Help & Recovery, or COHR, program. City officials said the pilot is aimed at calls involving mental health, substance use, welfare checks and some conflicts or disturbances. The launch follows a planning process the city had described in September 2025 as part of its broader Public Safety for All initiative. ### Which calls will get the co-response team? The May 29 city announcement said the clinician will be dispatched with an officer when certain pre-determined 911 call types are received. Those call types can include incidents involving mental health, substance use, welfare checks, and various conflicts or disturbances, the city said. During the hours when the co-responder is on duty, any Somerville officer who arrives on a scene and decides the additional support would help can also request that person. (somervillema.gov) Somerville’s public guidance on crisis response says residents should still call 911 if someone is acting aggressively or appears to be in a mental health crisis, and tell the call taker the person may be experiencing a mental health episode. The city says public safety and care professionals will be dispatched to assist, and that follow-up services may be offered afterward. ### Who is the mental health professional in this pilot? (somervillema.gov) The city said the co-responder is currently a staff member with COHR, a program already embedded in Somerville’s public safety and health response system. Under the pilot, that staff member will accompany officers in real time rather than only taking referrals after an initial police response, according to the announcement. (somervillema.gov) COHR has been described by the city as a jail-diversion and support program that connects people with mental health recovery, substance-use recovery and other services. The Public Safety for All materials list COHR among the service providers Somerville has used in building alternative and co-response models. ### How much coverage does the pilot provide right now? (somervillema.gov) The current staffing model is limited. The city said the co-responder will be on duty during two four-hour blocks each week. Outside those hours, Somerville police said officers will continue relying on crisis-intervention and de-escalation training when responding to mental or behavioral health crises. After an officer determines a scene is safe, the clinician may help speak with the person in crisis, gather information to shape next steps, and coordinate immediate care if needed, the city said. (somervillema.gov) In cases involving addiction or other behavioral health challenges, the co-responder will work with COHR and partner agencies on follow-up and aftercare. ### Why did Somerville build the program this way? (somervillema.gov) Mayor Jake Wilson said in the May 29 release that the pilot came out of “years of intense community and cross-departmental work” that identified a need for a different response. Police Chief Shumeane Benford said the pilot was a direct response to a community recommendation to advance alternative responses to mental health crises. (somervillema.gov) A September 10, 2025 city announcement tied the planned launch to recommendations from Somerville’s Public Safety for All process, a multi-year effort led by the Department of Racial and Social Justice. That earlier notice said residents had voiced support through surveys, listening sessions and task-force work for responses that involved social workers or public health professionals on behavioral-health calls. (somervillema.gov) ### What happens next if the co-responder is not working? Somerville said standard practice will remain in place when the clinician is off duty. Officers can still refer a person directly to COHR, and COHR may follow up after the initial response to provide wraparound services. The city has not announced an expansion date beyond the pilot schedule described in the May 29 release. (somervillema.gov) The next public marker is likely to come through future city updates on the pilot’s operation or staffing. For now, the named participants are the Somerville Police Department, COHR staff, Mayor Jake Wilson and Chief Shumeane Benford, all identified in the city’s launch announcement on May 29. (somervillema.gov)