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Hoover creates behavioral health coordinator job

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Photo by Jon Anderson

The Hoover City Council on Monday night agreed to create a new position in city government to assist with behavioral and mental health needs.

The job title is behavioral health coordinator and will help address two overarching needs: provide support to Hoover’s first responders as they deal with people in the community who have mental health issues and provide personal support for first responders and other city employees as they deal with the stresses that come with their jobs, City Administrator Allan Rice said.

“Our mental health system is broken in America and in the state of Alabama,” Rice told the Hoover City Council Monday night.

This has left first responders such as police officers, firefighters and dispatchers with responsibilities that are not necessarily within their job descriptions, Rice said.

“But they are the front lines who have to go out and deal with mental health crises that typically would have been handled within an organized mental health system, but because of defunding and a change of philosophy in that discipline the last three to four decades, we don’t have the mental health system we used to have in America or the state of Alabama.”

This behavioral health coordinator would train and provide direct support to all the city’s public safety personnel as they deal with people with mental health issues that often come to light with things such as substance abuse, homelessness and domestic violence, Rice said.

In addition to robust training, the coordinator also would come out in the field to assist when necessary, he said.

At the same time, episodes of suicide and post traumatic stress disorder among first responders and the number of people leaving public safety jobs are at an all-time high, Rice said.

The city currently uses an outside agency to provide counseling and other assistance to city employees dealing with emotional, relational and mental health needs, but “first responders typically interact better with other first responders,” Rice said. “When we can get somebody to seek help when they need help, they want help from somebody who’s walked in their shoes or has done similar work and understands the work that they do.”

The idea is for this behavioral health coordinator to have both a public safety and mental health background, Rice said. That way, Hoover first responders will be more likely to welcome the assistance, he said.

While public safety would be the lion’s share of this person’s job, the coordinator also would assist people in other departments as needed, as well as work with outside agencies that partner with the city to address mental health issues, Rice said.

While this is a new position, it comes with minimal additional cost, if any, because the council agreed to eliminate a park maintenance supervisor position to create this one. The new job does come at a higher pay grade that, at maximum, would cost the city $5,000 more per year.

City officials believe there could actually be cost savings with this change if it leads to fewer expenses associated with the existing employee assistance program and greater productivity and job retention, Rice said.

“The more that we can keep people healthy and well and on the job and functioning, it saves the city money,” Rice said. “It’s the right thing to do for that individual, but it also is a smart economic move for the city.”

The city’s goal is to have someone hired for the behavioral health coordinator job in four to six  weeks, Rice said.

In other business tonight, the City Council:

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