Calls for CARE Unit up 39 percent this year

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A joint effort between Bloomfield’s human services and police departments, teaming up to respond to residents in crisis, has seen an increase in calls for help this year, said Francesca Viola, the township’s social work supervisor.

The human services/police collaboration, known as the CARE unit, is an acronym for Creating a Resilient Environment. It was formed in September of 2021 and is presently made up of just two people: Viola, who was hired specifically for the unit, and Bloomfield Police Department Officer Yesenia Aponte, who has 23 years on the force, most recently in community policing.

“A lot of municipalities contract out when it comes to police departments intersecting with social service needs,” Viola said last week at police headquarters.
While other communities have units similar to CARE, Bloomfield’s response is unique, she said, because it does not contract outside vendors. Instead, the township employs its own resources. It is thought this approach will strengthen the ties between the resident and Bloomfield services and the community. Viola said in 2022, there were 617 police reports requesting CARE intervention. During the first quarter of 2023, these requests increased 39% although more than one intervention for the same individual figured into the increase.

“Basically, if a call comes into police dispatch about a person in crisis, dispatch sends out a unit,” Viola explained. “Dispatch sends out a unit, generally a police car, but it depends on the call.”

The officer at the scene will write a report and, if determined, will refer it to the CARE unit. Viola and Aponte follow.
“We continue with outreach and make sure the person is connected to whatever social services they need,” Viola said.

Aponte said sometimes a person does not want to speak to a police officer.
“But we smooth things down,” she said. “Sometimes everything is charged, but we can de-escalate a crisis to keep it flowing.”

Even the uniform she wears is different from that of other officers on duty, she said, noting that its color is a light blue and easy on the eyes.

“The first responding police officer stays with the resident until the CARE unit arrives,” Aponte continued. “Or, if they have to go to the hospital, when they return, we check up.”

A call for help comes for any number of reasons including mental health issues, homelessness, food insecurity, domestic violence, substance abuse and senior specific needs. Before the CARE initiative and its subsequent case management, things were different.

“It was like we were just stacking up reports and nothing was getting done,” Aponte said.
“There was a lot of recidivism,” Viola added.
Aponte now looks over every report first thing in the morning to see where she and her partner stand with their at-risk community.

“We had an individual with developmental disabilities who was chronically homeless,” Viola said. “There were a lot of outreaches before. They’d go into the hospital, get discharged and then back to the street.”
“They weren’t our first one,” Aponte said, “but the one we tried hardest with.”

“After a lot of outreach,” Viola continued, “we connected to the Division Of Developmental Disability, a state agency. That opened a lot of services for this individual including placement in a group home.”
She said the person had also lost contact with their family.
“After a lot of research, we were able to connect them to their family,” she said.
“That’s the best,” Aponte said.

“After living chronically on the street, they are living in a home,” Viola said. “They’re better able to function and are taking care of their health.”

There was another case.
“We were working with this person for the last seven months,” Viola said. “They were living with mental illness.
A few crises over the past few months required police interaction.

“We did continual case management and a lot of home visits,” she continued. “They also had food insecurity. First thing, we connected them to SNAP.
The immediate need was getting them food. We also connected them to community providers for people with mental health disorders.”

SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a NJ food program.
After a CARE intervention and troubles have smoothed, Viola and Aponte do not roll the file cabinet drawer closed.

The people they’ve helped will not let them.
“A lot of people just call to tell us about their day,” Aponte said. “We took them out of a dark place because they felt comfortable with us.”

“It’s a lot of work,” Viola said, “but beyond rewarding.”