NH Department Would Take Holistic Approach To Community Health

NEW HAVEN, CT — New Haven officials have proposed a multi-pronged, health-focused approach to improving the safety of their community – a "Department of Community Resilience."

The new governmental department would focus on violence prevention, mental health, homelessness, crisis response and re-entry services, Major Justin Elicker said at a press conference Monday. It would be overseen by the community services administrator, Mehul Dalal.

"We very deliberately are housing this department under the community services administration because we believe very strongly that this is a health epidemic around violence, and the increase in violence, and we need to put social services at the forefront of how we solve it," Elicker said.

Over the last year and a half, the city has wrestled with the coronavirus pandemic, the role of policing in communities, and how to prevent violence. The proposed department is the result of those discussions, the New Haven Independent reported.

One of the main takeaways of the city's research, Elicker said, was the idea that issues such as substance abuse disorder, homelessness and violence exist in tandem with each other.

Around 80 percent of people returning home from prison have a history of substance abuse, Dalal said at the press conference, and many face homelessness.

"We can't arrest our way out of these problems," Dalal said.

The department will need to be approved by the Board of Alders before it can be created, the New Haven Independent said. Most of the funds would be transferred from existing departments, with another $2 million coming over four years from the federal American Rescue Plan.

Read more from The New Haven Independent.