[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
WELCOME TO THE MARCH 4TH MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.WE'RE GONNA CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
AND I'M GONNA START BY JUST TAKING ATTENDANCE.
UM, UH, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT HERE.
MARTIN, I BELIEVE IS NOT JOINING US.
COMMISSIONER HERMES MEYER IS ALSO NOT GOING TO BE HERE TODAY.
AND IF I COULD GET THE SCREEN SHOWING, UM, COMMISSIONER SMITH UP.
IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN GET HER ON THIS SCREEN IN FRONT OF ME? THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND WITH THAT, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A QUICK SECOND TO INTRODUCE OUR NEW COMMISSIONER.
COMMISSIONER ON HEATHER CARRE IS FROM D THREE.
DID YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF? SAY HI.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SERVING OUR COMMUNITY, AND I AM REPRESENTING DISTRICT THREE NATIVE AUSTINITE.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
I THINK WE WILL START WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE UP TODAY.
FIRST WE HAVE STEPHANIE RYAN, IF SHE'D LIKE TO COME UP.
UM, WHERE DO I SEE YOU CAN COME SIT AT ANY OF THESE CHAIRS.
WELL, IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU ALL IN PERSON.
UM, I'VE SEEN YOU ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN AND IT'S VERY DIFFERENT
I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT TALKING WITH YOU FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
UM, AND I CAME TODAY BASICALLY WITH TWO REQUESTS.
UM, ONE I THINK IS PRETTY HARD, AND THAT'S FOR YOU TO ENGAGE WITH FOLKS WHOM YOU KNOW, THAT CAN DIRECT MORE, UM, EFFORT AND FOCUS ON OUR HIGH RISK YOUTH THAT'S RELATED TO CRIMINALITY, BUT WE'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER.
SECONDLY, I'M HERE TO SUPPORT A PD.
UM, UH, MY BACKGROUND IS HAVING WORKED WITH THE STATE HOSPITALS AND THE LMHA FOR MANY YEARS, I LIVE IN DISTRICT SEVEN.
UM, FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING PUBLIC SAFETY WITH RESPECT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT.
UM, RATHER CLOSELY THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE, COMMISSION COUNCIL, UM, AND ACTUALLY STARTING WITH A RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE.
UM, SO I'VE READ LOTS OF REPORTS, LOTS OF PRESENTATIONS.
I'VE DONE EXTERNAL CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH.
OBVIOUSLY I'M RETIRED, SO THAT'S BEEN EASY TO DO.
UM, SO I KNOW MUCH LESS THAN MOST OF YOU HERE, UH, ESPECIALLY CHIEF GREENWALT, I WOULD SAY, UM, BUT A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THE AVERAGE BEAR.
BUT THE, I'LL START WITH SUPPORTING A PD.
THE I I SUPPORT THEM BECAUSE THEY'VE EARNED IT.
UM, THEY HAVE MADE A LOT OF CHANGES OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS UNDER THE DIRECTION OF COUNCIL, UH, BUT THEY ALSO EARN IT EVERY DAY.
AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THEY NEED PUBLIC SUPPORT AND THEY NEED SUPPORT BY CITY LEADERSHIP.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN IN A MINUTE.
I HAVE ALWAYS ADMIRED THE BEHAVIORAL FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE, UM, THAT POLICE OFFICERS HAVE TO HAVE AND AWARENESS TO DO THEIR JOBS.
UH, WELL, UM, I THINK WHAT GOT ME HERE WAS WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH, UM, THE CITY'S REQUEST FOR, UM, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO REVIEW THE 2020 PROTESTS.
AND RECENTLY IN THE PAPER, UM, THERE WAS JUST A BRIEF ARTICLE ABOUT A, UM, MANY ORGANIZATIONS JUMPING ONTO THAT.
UM, AND I REALLY DON'T LIKE INFLAMMATORY RHETORIC.
I DON'T LIKE IT FROM THE RIGHT WING.
I DON'T LIKE IT FROM THE LEFT WING.
AND, AND THAT'S WHAT I CONSIDERED IT TO BE.
UM, THEY TALKED ABOUT THE TOXIC CULTURE OF POLICING, AND THERE'S SUPPOSED TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY, AND THEY'VE MADE SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORTS, UM, THAT IS JUST NOT FULLY ACCURATE.
UM, AND IT ANGERS ME TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT ALL OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FOLKS SERVING THE COMMUNITY, THAT MOST DEFINITELY IS TRUE.
UM, BUT THE WAY THAT THE POLICE DO IT IS BY APPREHENDING OFFENDERS.
OH, AM I CUT OFF? YOU CAN FINISH YOUR THOUGHTS AND THEN THANK
[00:05:01]
YOU.I DIDN'T REALIZE, REALIZE THAT.
UM, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT I HAD MANY MORE THOUGHTS AND TIME WOULD ALLOW.
UM, IS IT OKAY IF I WRITE SOMETHING UP AND SEND IT TO YOU ALL SO YOU CAN READ IT, BUT JUST QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, OUR, I, I GAVE YOU AND CHIEF, UH, GREENWALD A VERY RUDIMENTARY SUMMARY, UM, SHOWING OUR, OUR HIGH RISK YOUTH AND THE DISPROPORTIONATE CRIMINALITY, UNFORTUNATELY, AMONG OUR, UH, BLACK COMMUNITY AND TO A LESSER DEGREE AMONG OUR HISPANICS.
UM, AND THEY ARE NOT DEALT FEAR CARDS IN LIFE.
THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SUBJECT TO ABUSE, NEGLECT, TRAUMA.
POLICE OFFICERS ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO TRAUMA, SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON.
UM, AND, UM, I JUST, I WOULD LIKE FOR THE CITY TO JUST FOCUS ON A LITTLE BIT MORE UNITY, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND SUPPORT.
A PD SO I'LL SEND THIS TO YOU.
AND I'LL MAKE SURE TO DISTRIBUTE THIS AMONGST EVERYONE, UM, WITH OUR, MAKE SURE THAT IT'S WITH OUR MINUTES AND I'LL DISTRIBUTE IT TO EVERYONE.
UM, NEXT WE HAVE RUTH MOONING MOONING.
DAVID INGER WAS MURDERED ON NOVEMBER 15TH, 2022 BY A PD OFFICER DANIEL SANCHEZ, AND I'M RUTH, HIS MOTHER, AND NOW HIS VOICE.
ON DECEMBER 23RD, 2023, CHIEF HENDERSON MADE A STATEMENT ABOUT THE INDICTMENT OF DANIEL SANCHEZ.
HER STATEMENT WAS AT BEST INACCURATE.
I'M HERE TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT.
ANYONE IN DOUBT CAN WATCH THE RING VIDEO FOR THEMSELVES.
CHIEF HENDERSON SAID THAT DANIEL SANCHEZ WAS CONFRONTED BY A SUBJECT.
CALLER TOLD THE DISPATCHER THAT THE HOMEOWNER WAS POINTING HIS RIFLE AT THE INTERIOR OF HIS OWN HOME.
THE VIDEO CL CLEARLY SHOWS THAT UNTIL HE WAS SHOT, RAJAN WAS UNAWARE THAT THEY WERE THERE.
THE TRUTH IS, DANIEL SANCHEZ DROVE UP WITHOUT LIGHTS, WITHOUT SILENCE, HID BEHIND A NEIGHBOR'S SIX FOOT FENCE, AND DISCHARGE HIS SEMI-AUTOMATIC AT MY SON BEFORE EVEN FINISHING THE WORDS, DROP YOUR GUN.
AFTER THAT FIRST SHOT, RAJA RELEASED HIS GUN AND CRIED OUT.
SANCHEZ CONTINUED TO FIRE FORMAL SHOTS AT MY SON.
CHIEF HENDERSON SAID THAT MY SON SHOT INTO A DENSELY POPULATED NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE TRUTH IS, HE WAS STANDING HIS GROUND FOR WARNING.
HE FIRED WARNING SHOTS INTO HIS OWN HOME AT AN INTRUDER.
THE TRUTH IS THAT CHIEF HENDERSON CHOSE NOT TO DISCIPLINE THE OFFICERS WHO FAILED TO RENDER LIFESAVING AID TEXAS LAW.
INSTEAD, MY SON LAY ON HIS FRONT PORT, BLEEDING TO DEATH AT THE FEET OF A PD.
THE TRUTH IS THAT A POLICE OFFICER UNANNOUNCED SHOT A LAWFUL GUN OWNER IN HIS PLACE OF RESIDENCE.
THE TRUTH IS THAT THE A PD HAS TIME AND AGAIN REPORTED LIES TO THE PUBLIC.
THE TRUTH IS THAT THIS IS JUST ANOTHER INSTANCE OF THE LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY BY OUR CITY AND ITS POLICE FORCE.
AS A MOTHER AND CITIZEN, WE CAN, AND WE MUST EXPECT BETTER AND MORE FROM OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS.
I'M ASKING DA GAZA TO CONVENE A NEW GRAND JURY TO HEAR THE CASE AGAINST OFFICER SANCHEZ.
THE CURRENT INDICTMENT CHARGES FALL SHORT AND DO NOT FULLY ADDRESS WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SON.
THIS CASE DEALS WITH MY SON, BUT HE COULD HAVE BEEN YOUR SON, BROTHER, FATHER, AND HUSBAND.
WHEN WE DON'T DEMAND TRUTH, TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND INTEGRITY, WE GET A FAILED SYSTEM.
STOLEN FAMILY MEMBERS AND REMOTE LESS.
OFFICE OFFICER OFFICIALS, THE A, THE THE A PD DID NOT PROTECT MY SON AGAINST DANIEL'S
[00:10:01]
SANCHEZ.AND THEIR VERSION OF THE EVENTS IS SHAMEFULLY INACCURATE WHEN THEY SAY THINGS, WHEN THEY SAY THESE THINGS, YOU KNOW WHAT? IT RUBS SALT IN A WOUND THAT WILL NEVER HEAL.
THE ONLY REASON THAT I CAN BE STRONG IS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, JESUS HAS ASSURED ME I WILL SEE MY SON ONE DAY.
UM, AND NEXT WE HAVE CARLOS LEON.
SO CARLOS, LEON, FIRST AND FOREMOST, GRACIA FOR LETTING ME SPEAK AGAINST A PD AND CAP METRO EVIL, THREATENING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY.
FEBRUARY 8TH, 7:35 AM DRIVER OF A PD VEHICLE.
7 5 4 7 APPEARED TO STALK AND HARASS ME OUTSIDE ROSEDALE BAPTIST CHURCH, THOUGH NOTHING WAS GOING ON, SAME AS NOVEMBER 6TH, 2023.
THIS TIME, THE COP'S CAR SLOWLY FOLLOWED ME WHEN I WALKED AWAY.
STOP AND PUNISH THE A PD PERP.
NOW WRONGLY CLAIMING CAP METRO IS A PRIVATE ENTITY.
GUILTY CAP METRO SUPERVISORS T 57, B 38, AND T 50 MISUSE A PD TO WRONGLY ISSUE.
CRIMINAL TRESPASS NOTICES AGAINST ME FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION BUS STOPS AND BUSES TO ILLEGALLY RETALIATE AGAINST AND PUNISH ME FOR LAWFULLY DEFENDING MYSELF AGAINST GUILTY BUS DRIVERS.
VIOLATING MY CIVIL RIGHTS BY ILLEGALLY REFUSING ME SERVICE BECAUSE I WON'T LET THEM DISRESPECT GASLIGHT AND OR BULLY ME.
TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE 4 51 0.052 DEFINES CAT METRO AS A PUBLIC ENTITY METROPOLITAN RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY, EXERCISING POWER FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES AND FUNCTIONS ONLY REQUIRING JUST CAUSE TO LAWFULLY ISSUE.
UNLIKE A PRIVATE BUSINESS, HOWEVER, DESPITE SHOWING AND TELLING THEM, A PD OFFICERS OFTEN DON'T RECOGNIZE THAT DISTINCTION DESPITE TEXAS SUPREME COURT RULING CAP METRO, A COMMON CARRIER UNLIKE PRIVATE CARRIER GREYHOUND IN VIA METRO TRANSIT, VM EC, RESULTING IN DIFFERENT OFFICERS GENERATING DIFFERENT CONFLICTING OUTCOMES.
ALSO, WHEN I PUT ONE FOOT INSIDE THE BUS AND ONE OUTSIDE TO FORCE HOSTILE DRIVERS TO CALL A SUPERVISOR TO ENFORCE MY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICE RIGHTS FOLLOWING CAT METRO SUPERVISORS B 36 AND T 50 TWOS DIRECTIONS, OTHER SUPERVISORS AND A PD OFFICERS BLAME ME FOR DELAYING SERVICE, THOUGH GUILTY DRIVERS CAUSE THE PROBLEMS LIKE BLACK FEMALE DRIVER 3 2 1 1 5 0 REFUSING TO LOWER THE BUS FROM MY BOARDING, THEN CALLING ME A HOMELESS M**********R WHEN BLACK MALE SUPERVISOR T 50 REMOVED HER.
BUT BECAUSE SHE FALSELY ACCUSED ME OF THREATENING HER OLDER WHITE MALE, A PD OFFICER CLAWSON 5 8 9 7 WAS CALLED OUT TO INVESTIGATE, RESULTING IN A BAD OLD DAYS HARASSMENT DETAINMENT CONFRONTATION, ME RIGHTLY, PROTECTING MY PRIVACY AND CLAWSON WRONGLY PROBING FOR GOTCHA INFORMATION UNRELATED TO THE CALL LIKE HIM SAYING HE COULD CITE ME FOR NOT HAVING UPDATED MY DRIVER'S LICENSE ADDRESS WITHIN 90 DAYS.
THOUGH I'M THE ONE BEING STALKED THROUGHOUT AUSTIN, HE ALSO INITIALLY WITHHELD THE A PD CASE NUMBER FROM ME, FALSELY CONFLATING MY RIGHT TO NOT RESPOND WITH HIS DUTY, TO PUBLICLY DISCLOSE FALSELY ACCUSING ME OF BEING A HYPOCRITE AND THINKING I KNEW BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE, WHICH SEEMED PERSONAL, LIKE HE WAS ANGRY BECAUSE I CITED APPLICABLE LAW.
FIX THIS CRACK NOW BECAUSE APDS FORWARD PROGRESS, PROTECTING AND SERVING US MUST NOT BE RETARDED OR REGRESSED.
ACTUALLY, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, I AM GONNA JUST TAKE ONE SECOND TO ACKNOWLEDGE MS. JACKSON, WHO HAS BEEN WITH THE COMMISSION FOR AS LONG AS I'VE BEEN WITH THE COMMISSION.
AND SHE'S BEEN HERE FOR MUCH LONGER.
SINCE, SINCE, SINCE WAY BEFORE THAT AS WELL.
SHE'S BEEN SERVING THE COMMISSION AND HELPING RUN OUR MEETINGS AND HELPING US GET DOCUMENTS AND HELPING US UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS WORK FOR YEARS NOW.
SHE GETS TO WASH HER HANDS OF OUR MADNESS, UM, AND HAVE A LESS COMPLICATED DAY BECAUSE OF IT.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP OVER THE YEARS.
[00:15:01]
YOU.GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING THAT COMES NEXT.
THANK YOU MS. JACKSON FOR YOUR, UM,
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
AND WITH THAT WE WILL GET GOING WITH THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.THE MINUTES ARE IN FRONT OF EVERYONE, EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A COPY.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY CORRECTIONS CHANGES? NO.
IF THERE ARE NO CHANGES, CAN I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE FROM SOMEONE I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? CAN I GET A SECOND? SECOND AND THEN I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE.
UM, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT? YES.
UM, I'M ALSO GONNA TAKE A SEC TO JUST TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT, UM, WE'RE DOING A SLIGHT, SLIGHT CHANGE IN PROCESS WITH REGARDS TO FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS.
UM, WHENEVER WE HAVE QUESTIONS THAT WE KIND OF HAVE LINGERING ANSWERS FOR, UM, BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AGAIN TO GET A A PROCESS GOING.
UM, WE WILL BE FILING RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS WITH MEETINGS WITH THE MEETINGS WHERE THEY WERE, SO THAT IF WE ASKED A MEETING A QUESTION IN JANUARY, THE ANSWER WILL GET POSTED TO JANUARY AND I'LL JUST DO MY BEST TO MAKE SURE DURING CURRENT MEETINGS THAT I MAKE REFERENCE TO THOSE.
SO WE DID GET ANSWERS TO OUR SB FOUR FOLLOW UP QUESTION THAT WILL BE POSTED, AND THEN WE ALSO GOT QUESTION FOLLOW UP ANSWERS TO THE FIRE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAD, UM, LAST MEETING.
AND THOSE ARE ALL POSTED IN THE FEBRUARY MEETING FOR EVERYONE TO REFERENCE.
UM, AND I'LL JUST DO, DO, DO GOOD.
AND I ALSO ASK AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE MEETING, UM, IF COMMISSIONERS COULD HELP ME BY IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR QUESTION WASN'T ANSWERED AND NEED SOME FOLLOW UP, IF YOU COULD PLEASE FLAG IT SOMEHOW OR JUST KIND OF SAY SOMETHING OUT LOUD SO THAT WE COULD MAKE SURE TO FLAG THOSE AS WE'RE CAPTURING MINUTES AND REVIEWING MEETINGS, THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
[2. Presentation by Teresa Gardner, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services (ATCEMS) Chief of Staff regarding the Austin Travis County EMS Quarterly Report. ]
AND WITH THAT, WE ARE GONNA GET STARTED.FIRST UP IS EMS WITH THEIR QUARTERLY REPORT, UH, SORRY FOR, UH, FOR THE QUARTERLY REPORT, I HAVE, UH, BASICALLY TWO REPORTS THAT I'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU.
THE FIRST ONE WILL BE ON OUR STAFFING, AND THE SECOND WILL BE ON OUR POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS.
SO CURRENTLY WITH OUR STAFFING, WE HAVE AN OVERALL VACANCY RATE OF 18.53%.
MOST OF THESE VACANCIES FALL WITHIN OUR CLINICAL SPECIALISTS, WHICH IS OUR KIND OF SECOND TIER LEVEL, UH, OF RANK.
UH, WE CURRENTLY HAVE 38 FIELD, UM, POSITIONS OPEN.
THAT IS OUR ENTRY LEVEL INTO THE DEPARTMENT.
UH, OUR FULL AUTHORIZED STRENGTH IS 689.
SO RIGHT NOW WE HAVE 568 OF THAT FIELD.
UH, OUR SWORN SEPARATIONS FOR THIS QUARTER, UH, WE DID HAVE, I BELIEVE IT IS FOUR RETIREMENTS KIND OF SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE RANK DISTRIBUTION.
UH, WE ALSO DID HAVE, UH, 12, UH, RESIGNATIONS.
MOST OF THOSE ARE GONNA BE AT OUR ENTRY LEVEL POSITION OF THE FIELD MEDIC.
I THINK I MISD DID THE CLICKER THERE.
SO, UH, OUR TENURE FOR THOSE SEPARATIONS, THE BULK OF THOSE WERE AT THAT MEDIC POSITION.
THE ONES THAT DID RETIRE, WE DID HAVE ONE ASSISTANT CHIEF, UH, AND WE DID HAVE ONE CAPTAIN.
SO, UM, AS EXPECTED, MOST OF THOSE SEPARATIONS ARE AT OUR LOWER RANK.
AND THEN OUR VACANCY RATES OF, UH, SWORN VERSUS, UH, CIVILIAN, UH, THERE IS A SLIGHT DOWN TREND THERE WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE CHIPPING AWAY AT IT.
[00:20:01]
UH, SO IT'S LOOKING A LITTLE BIT BETTER.UH, TURNOVER RATE, UH, WE HAD, UH, NO CIVILIAN TURNOVER RATE IN NOVEMBER.
UH, AS WE KIND OF GO THROUGH ACADEMIES, SOMETIMES WE SEE THAT PEOPLE COMING STRAIGHT OUTTA ACADEMY MAY NOT BE SUCCESSFUL.
THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA SEE THAT HIGHER, UM, ENTRY LEVEL EMT BASIC, UH, MEDIC TURNOVER RATE.
AND THEN LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, UH, WE HAVE FOUR ACADEMIES SCHEDULED FOR THIS YEAR.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE ONE ACADEMY THAT'S GONNA BE GRADUATING THIS MONTH THAT WILL HAVE 14 CADETS IN IT.
THE UPCOMING ACADEMY FOR APRIL WILL HAVE NINE.
AND FOR, FOR THE END OF SUMMER ACADEMY, WE CURRENTLY HAVE A HUNDRED APPLICANTS THAT HAVE MADE IT THROUGH THE PROCESS TO THE INTERVIEW STAGE.
SO, UH, THAT IS DEFINITELY HAS THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING A REALLY LARGE ACADEMY.
SO WE'RE SUPER HOPEFUL FOR THAT.
AND THEN OUR LAST ACADEMY OF THE YEAR, WE HAVEN'T EVEN CLOSED THAT APPLICATION PERIOD YET, SO WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHERE WE'RE GONNA STAND THERE YET.
AND IF YOU'LL BRING UP THE, UH, POP-UP RESOURCE CLINIC.
SO I KIND OF WANTED TO COME IN TODAY AND GIVE YOU JUST A GLIMPSE INTO ONE OF THE RESOURCES THAT WE RUN OUT OF OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PROGRAM UNDER THE INTEGRATED SERVICES UMBRELLA.
THESE ARE POPUP RESOURCE CLINICS, AND WE CALL THEM PERKS.
UM, BUT I KIND OF WANNA TAKE YOU THROUGH ABOUT WHAT ONE LOOKS LIKE AND WHAT ARE THE SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDED AT THESE POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WHEN WE DEAL WITH PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY AND WITH PATIENTS WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO, UH, CONNECT THEM TO SERVICES, UH, AND THEY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES AND THERE'S A LOT OF BARRIERS TO CARE THERE.
WE CAN'T SAY, I CAN'T GET YOU HEALTH INSURANCE UNTIL YOU GET A DRIVER'S LICENSE, BUT NOW YOU GOTTA DRIVE ACROSS TOWN TO GET A DRIVER'S LICENSE, AND THEN YOU GOTTA COME ALL THE WAY BACK.
BUT TO GET YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE, YOU NEED YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY CARD.
SO I NEED YOU TO DRIVE OVER HERE.
WHEN PEOPLE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION OR THEIR OWN VEHICLES, THAT, UM, TASK ORDER CAN TAKE MONTHS TRYING TO GET ACROSS TOWN TO GET THE RIGHT PAPERWORK.
SO WE DECIDED TO TAKE A NEW APPROACH WITH IT WHERE WE TAKE ALL OF THOSE SERVICES AND WE INVITE THEM TO ONE PLACE, AND WE BRING THE ID OFFICE, WE BRING, UM, THE MAP OFFICE.
WE BRING AS MANY RESOURCES TO ONE CENTRAL LOCATION SO THAT SOMEBODY CAN LITERALLY WALK THROUGH THE FRONT DOORS OF A POP-UP RESOURCE CLINIC WITH NOTHING AND GET CONNECTED TO TWO DOZEN DIFFERENT SERVICES AND WALK OUT WITH A MUCH BETTER, UM, APPROACH IN, IN IMPROVING THEIR LIFE.
UM, SO LET'S KIND OF GO THROUGH SOME OF THESE THINGS.
WE CAN PROVIDE PEOPLE WITH HEALTHCARE FUNDING, UH, ON THE SPOT AND PRINT CARDS ON THE SPOT.
UH, THIS WILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO HAVE, UH, HEALTHCARE ACCESS AT SETON HOSPITALS AT COMMUNITY CARE.
UH, IT PROVIDES THEM PRESCRIPTION SERVICES FOR NO COST AT HEB.
UH, IT IS VERY MINIMAL TO QUALIFY FOR THESE SERVICES.
UM, SOME OF OUR PARTNERS THAT WE BRING IN WILL OFFER SOME SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND HARM REDUCTION.
UH, WE ALSO DO, UH, MEDICAL CARE TESTING, SEXUAL EDUCATION.
UM, WE, UH, BLACK MEN'S HEALTH IS ONE OF OUR NEW PARTNERS THAT HAS COME OUT AS WELL.
UH, WE DO HAVE CLINICIANS ON SCENE AT THESE POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS THAT CAN PROVIDE EXAMS. UH, WE WORK WITH DIFFERENT PARTNER AGENCIES TO PROVIDE PHYSICIANS AND PAS.
WE CAN DRAW BLOOD, WE CAN PROVIDE IMMUNIZATIONS.
UH, WE CAN EVEN PROVIDE IMMUNIZATIONS AND CARE FOR PEOPLE'S PETS.
UM, AS THESE POPUP RESOURCE CLINICS HAVE BECOME MORE POPULAR, UH, WE'VE JUST INCLUDED MORE AND MORE AND MORE RESOURCES.
WE CAN NOW OFFER HAIRCUTS, UH, JOB PLACEMENT, HOUSING ASSISTANCE, FOOD ASSISTANCE, UH, ANY RESOURCE THAT WE CAN POSSIBLY TRY TO CONNECT PEOPLE WITH TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES.
WE INVITE TO THESE POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS.
WE IDENTIFY WHERE TO PLACE THESE POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS BASED ON WHAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM.
SO THEY ARE NOT HELD, UM, AT THE SAME PLACE EVERY TIME WE MOVE THEM AROUND THE CITY AND THE COUNTY TO TRY TO, UH, IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY BY PEOPLE BECAUSE, I MEAN, WE'RE DOING THIS BECAUSE ACCESS, UH, ACCESSIBILITY IS HARD IN THE FIRST PLACE.
[00:25:01]
SO, UH, I'LL SHOW YOU A MAP HERE IN JUST A SECOND THAT KIND OF SHOWS WHERE THESE HOTSPOTS ARE.UM, BUT WE DID IDENTIFY A NEED.
UH, THERE IS A NEED FOR SPECIFIC POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS.
UH, ONE OF THOSE WE CALL A PINK PERK, BUT IT'S A WOMEN SPECIFIC, UM, RESOURCE CLINIC WHERE IT IS TOTALLY FOCUSED ON WOMEN'S HEALTH.
IT'S ONLY ACCESSIBLE TO WOMEN.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN VERY POPULAR AND VERY WELL ATTENDED.
SO IN 2023, OUR PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, WE DID, WE ONLY HAD SIX PERKS.
UM, IN THOSE SIX PERKS, WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE OVER A THOUSAND INTERVENTIONS TO 316 INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS.
SO A CLIENT WILL WALK INTO THE POP-UP RESOURCE CLINIC AND RECEIVE MULTIPLE INTERVENTIONS WHILE THEY'RE THERE.
LOOKING AT THE PROGRAM AND SEEING THE BENEFIT AND THE SUCCESS OF IT, WE DECIDED TO DOUBLE DOWN BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF OUR BEST BANGS FOR OUR BUCK BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY FACILITATING THESE CLINICS AND THE PARTNER AGENCIES ARE ACTUALLY PROVIDING THE SERVICES.
AND SO WE'RE NOT HAVING TO FUND THOSE SERVICES.
WE'RE ONLY HAVING TO FUND HAVING TO HOST THOSE SERVICES.
SO IN THE FIRST QUARTER, COMPARED TO ALL OF LAST YEAR IN 2023, UH, WE'VE NOW HAD SEVEN PERKS.
UH, WE'VE ALMOST MATCHED WHAT WE DID IN THIS QUARTER TO WHAT WE DID ALL OF LAST YEAR, UH, WITH 878 INTERVENTIONS AND OVER 200 DIFFERENT CLIENT INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS ONLY IN THIS QUARTER.
IT'S A DELICATE BALANCE IN HOW MANY PERKS WE CAN HAVE IN A MONTH OR IN A YEAR BECAUSE WE ARE REQUESTING THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT CERTAIN OFFICES CLOSE THEIR OFFICES FOR THE DAY AND MOVE THEM TO OUR POP-UP RESOURCE CLINIC.
WE CAN'T BURN OUT OUR PARTNERS.
SO WE'RE FINDING THAT DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN HOW OFTEN CAN WE HAVE THESE POP-UP RECO RESOURCE CLINICS AND NOT BECOME A BURDEN ON OUR PARTNER AGENCIES.
UH, HERE'S WHERE WE HAD, UM, POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS IN THIS QUARTER.
OH, I'M WORKING OFF TWO OF THEM HERE.
IT'S, I GOTTA POINT IT THAT WAY.
UH, THIS MAP SHOWS WHERE WE'RE, WHERE WE'RE PLACING POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS.
AS WITH MOST THINGS THAT WE ENCOUNTER, OUR HOTSPOTS TEND TO RUN NORTH SOUTH WITH I 35, HERE'S WHAT A POP-UP RESOURCE CLINIC LOOKS LIKE.
IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE IF IT'S OUTDOORS, IT KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A FARMER'S MARKET.
EVERYONE BRINGS THEIR TENTS, SETS UP THEIR TENTS.
UH, WE HAVE TRAILERS, WE HAVE EXAM TRAILERS THAT HAVE EXAM BEDS IN THEM THAT PEOPLE CAN COME IN TO GET THEIR PHYSICAL EXAMS OR THEIR MEDICAL SCREENINGS OR THEIR ACTUAL MEDICAL TREATMENT.
UM, EACH PARTNER AGENCY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING THEIR OWN SETUP.
WE DO PROVIDE A LOT OF TABLES.
AND THEN, UM, THE WAY THAT IT WORKS IS ONCE YOU REGISTER, YOU GET A HOST THAT WILL THEN TAKE YOU AROUND TO EACH ONE OF THESE RESOURCES TO ENSURE THAT YOU'RE GETTING THE CONNECTION THAT YOU NEED.
AND THEN THEY HAVE AN EXIT INTERVIEW AS THEY LEAVE, UH, THE POP-UP RESOURCE CLINIC.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE POPUP RESOURCE CLINIC? COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT? UM, UH, SO I, I'M, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF, UH, PIGGYBACKING ON SUCCESS, RIGHT? ADDING MORE SERVICES AND, AND MAKING THIS AS VALUABLE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND SO I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT, UM, UH, DENTAL CARE, UM, ACCESS TO EMERGENCY FOOD SERVICES.
UM, AND, UM, UH, WELL I HAD A THIRD ONE AND NOW IT'S LIKE LEFT MY HEAD.
UM, ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT LIKE, UM, COOLING CENTERS IN THE SUMMER AND, AND WARMING CENTERS IN THE WINTER, LIKE SORT OF ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT, THAT PEOPLE PROBABLY NEED.
WHEN PEOPLE DO GET CONNECTED TO FUNDING, LET'S SAY THROUGH MAP, THAT DOES GIVE THEM ACCESS TO COMMUNITY CARE, WHICH DOES HAVE A DENTAL, UM, UH, A DENTAL ASPECT TO IT.
SO THEY DO GET ACCESS TO DENTAL CARE THEN, BUT THAT'S VERY HARD TO DO AT THE POP-UP RESOURCE CLINIC BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES THIS IS IN A PARKING LOT OF A LIBRARY, UH, A PARKING LOT OF A BUSINESS OR CHURCH PERHAPS.
[00:30:01]
UM, DURING THE WINTER MONTHS, WE TRY TO SCHEDULE THEM INDOORS, UH, AND WE TRY TO MAKE THEM CLOSE TO THE CENTER OF THE CITY.SO THEY'RE USUALLY HELD AT THE MAIN LIBRARY, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE BLOCKS OVER.
UH, I THINK COMMISSIONER SMITH, SCOTT UP, I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION ACTUALLY, JUST, UM, JUST IN TERMS OF, UM, SO YOU'RE USING NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER DATA TO DETERMINE SORT OF WHERE TO HAVE THESE, IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE IF YOU GUYS ARE TRACKING POTENTIAL IMPACT ON 9 1 1 CALLS AFTER YOU GUYS ARE HOSTING THE POPUP RESOURCE CLINICS.
SO THAT, THAT WOULD JUST BE A REALLY NICE SORT OF BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURE TO SEE IF YOU KNOW IT, WHAT SORT OF IMPACT IT HAS.
SO IF YOU GUYS ARE DOING THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE.
UM, AND IF YOU AREN'T, THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO DO
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER SMITH? YES, I HAVE TWO.
I'M WONDERING, AND IT MAY, I'M JUST NOT SEEING ON THE PRESENTATION, ARE WE PRIORITIZING OUR UNHOUSED NEIGHBORS WITH SERVICE PROVISION? YES, MA'AM.
AND ARE WE COORDINATING WITH HEAL? NOT WITH HEAL, WE HAVE STARTED COORDINATING WITH THE NEW HOMELESS, UH, STRATEGY OFFICE.
IT WOULD JUST BE INTERESTING TO SEE THAT SYSTEM OPERATE BEFORE SLEEP HAPPENS BECAUSE THEN THOSE SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT ARE USUALLY HELPING THOSE INDIVIDUALS LOSE TOUCH WITH THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
SO I WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT PARTNERSHIPS YOU'RE WORKING WITH INSIDE THE SYSTEM IN ORDER TO, UM, GET ON THE GROUND.
UM, I'M ALSO WONDERING, CAN WE GO BACK TO THE SLIDE OF WHERE YOU ALL DID THE, UM, PERKS? YES MA'AM.
WHERE, WHAT, WHAT PLANS DO YOU HAVE TO SERVE THE HISTORICALLY DISENFRANCHISED EASTERN CRESCENT? BUT I'VE SEEN A LOT OF NORTH AND SOUTH.
I'M NOT SEEING OH, 2, 2, 3, 2, 1.
I'M, I'M NOT SEEING ANY OF THAT.
SO THAT MAYBE IT'S IN THIS, THE, THE NEXT ITERATION.
BUT WHAT ARE OUR PLANS TO GO TO THE INDIVIDUAL THAT HAS HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN DISENFRANCHISED? UH, AS THE, AS THE WEATHER IMPROVES, THE HONEST ANSWER IS AS THE WEATHER IMPROVES, WE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE MORE OUTSIDE PERKS, WHICH WILL THEN BE ADDRESSED INTO THAT EASTERN CRESCENT.
UH, IF YOU LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE LOCATIONS, THOSE ARE ALL INDOOR FOR THE MOST PART.
UM, SO IS THE, UM, IS THE UNDERSTANDING THAT WE DIDN'T DO EASTERN CRESCENT BECAUSE WE WEREN'T ABLE TO FIND INDOOR FACILITIES TO DO THE PERKS? UH, THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS IS FINDING A PLACE TO DO THEM.
UH, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW PLACES TO HOLD PERKS.
UH, BUT WE DO TEND, ONCE WE HAVE ONE, WE TEND TO HAVE, WE WE'RE ABLE TO COME BACK, WE'RE INVITED BACK TO HAVE MORE.
WHAT DOES YOUR OUTREACH LOOK LIKE FOR THE EASTERN CRESCENT? 'CAUSE I KNOW THERE ARE TONS OF PLACES THAT ARE HELPING OUR PEOPLE THERE THAT WOULD LOVE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
THAT'S ALL MANAGED THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH TEAM.
UH, AND AS THEY IDENTIFY WHERE THESE NEEDS ARE, THAT'S HOW THEY, THEY CHOOSE WHERE TO, TO PLACE THE NEXT PERK.
UM, I'D LIKE FOR A, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S THE RIGHT TIME, BUT FOR SURE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM BECAUSE I NEED TO SEE SOME OF THESE PERKS ON THE EAST SIDE.
UH, BUT AGAIN, WONDERFUL MODEL.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I HAVE A, YEAH.
UM, I'M GONNA GO BACK, UM, TO, UH, THE RECRUITMENT AND THEN ALSO THE FIELD POSITIONS.
I BELIEVE IT SAID 71 CURRENT VA FIELD VACANCIES.
IS THAT CORRECT? LEMME GO BACK.
SO SWORN VACANCIES IN TOTAL IS 121.
UH, SO YOU SAID 14 IN THE SPRING, NINE IN THE SUMMER POTENTIALLY.
UM, WHAT IS YOUR RETENTION NORMALLY, UH, DURING, UM, DURING ACADEMY? DO YOU, DO YOU NORMALLY SEE A TREND OF, OF, UH, EVERYONE GOING THROUGH AND COMPLETING IT? OR DOES THAT VARY? NO, MOST OF THE TIME EVERYONE MAKES IT THROUGH THE ACADEMY.
OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT.
UM, BUT IT HAS A VERY HIGH SUCCESS RATE OF GOING THROUGH THE ACADEMY.
[00:35:01]
THE NEXT STEP AFTER THE ACADEMY IS A CREDENTIALING AND CLEARANCE PROCESS THAT USUALLY TAKES A LITTLE BIT LONGER.BUT EVEN INCLUDING THAT PERIOD, THE ACADEMY AND THE CREDENTIALING, WE HAVE A VERY HIGH SUCCESS RATE.
AND THEN YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT, UM, YOU HAVE A CURRENT, UH, POOL OF RECRUITMENT OF, UH, ABOUT A HUNDRED, UM, APPLICANTS.
UM, WHAT, UH, WHAT HAS THAT LOOKED LIKE IN THE PAST WITH APPLICANTS, UM, DURING, UH, THOSE RECRUITING PERIODS? UM, ARE THEY USUALLY A LOT SMALLER? UM, I HEAR THE A HUNDRED APPLICANTS, BUT HOW MANY OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY GONNA BECOME, UH, CADETS AND THEN MOVE ON? YES, SIR.
A HUNDRED, A HUNDRED APPLICANTS THAT HAVE MADE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE INTERVIEW STAGE IS A VERY LARGE NUMBER.
UM, SO FOR THE 14 CADETS THAT WE HAD IN STARTING IN JANUARY, WE PROBABLY STARTED WITH ABOUT TWICE THAT THAT WENT TO THE INTERVIEW STAGE.
THAT THE, THE WASHOUT THROUGH THE INTERVIEW STAGE VARIES FROM ACADEMY TWO ACADEMY.
AND I THINK TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT, YOU SAW 71, WE DO HAVE 71 CLINICAL SPECIALISTS VACANCIES RIGHT NOW.
I THINK WE'RE GONNA WRAP ON UP SO THAT WE CAN MOVE ON TO OUR OTHER ITEMS. UM, OKAY.
[3. Presentations by Chief of Staff Jeff Greenwalt, Austin Police Department; Chief of Staff Teresa Gardner, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services; and Chief of Staff Rob Vire, Austin Fire Department; Texas Harm Reduction Alliance and Vocal Texas on opioid use hot spots, prevention, and education efforts.]
IS ACTUALLY WE HAVE MORE ON, WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT OPIOID USE HOTSPOTS PREVENTION EDUCATION EFFORTS.I KNOW THAT WE HAD ASKED SORT OF INFORMATION PRIMARILY FROM EMS, BUT WE'D LIKE TO HEAR, I KNOW THAT FIRE AND A PD ALSO.
SO YOU GUYS ARE WELCOME TO JOIN IN ON THE CONVERSATION.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE ADVOCATES FROM THE TEXAS HARM REDUCTION ALLIANCE, INVO TEXAS WITH US IF YOU GUYS WANNA COME ON UP AND JOIN US AT THE TABLE.
AND IF WE HAVE ANYONE ELSE THAT'D LIKE TO JOIN US UP AT THE TABLE AS WELL.
AND I'M TRYING TO DECIDE HOW WE SHOULD DO THIS.
SHOULD I HAVE THEM SPEAK, DO PRESENTATION FIRST AND THEN WHAT DO YOU THINK? UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS A PREFERENCE, BUT MAYBE EMS FIRST.
YEAH, IF WE CAN START WITH THE PRESENTATION FIRST AND THEN WE WILL MOVE ON TO EVERYONE ELSE THAT'S JOINING US, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
SO, UM, I GET EXCITED ABOUT TALKING ABOUT THIS, SO I, I'LL PROBABLY START TALKING WITH MY HANDS.
UH, I'VE INVITED DIVISION CHIEF ANGELA CARR TO JOIN US AND CAPTAIN, UH, MIKE SASSER WHO, UH, THIS IS HIS BABY.
THIS IS KIND OF, UH, WHAT, UH, HE IS MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT AND HAS PRETTY MUCH BUILT MOST OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TODAY.
UM, I WANTED TO START OFF BY HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT FENTANYL BECAUSE THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF MYTHS OUT THERE ABOUT IT, AND IT'S KIND OF HARD TO WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND.
UM, SO LET'S, LET'S JUMP RIGHT INTO IT.
CLICKER, I'M HORRIBLE AT THE CLICKER.
ALRIGHT, SO, THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY, EM, S'S RESPONSE AND, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S RESPONSE TO THE OPIOID CRISIS, UM, HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY OVER THE PAST THREE TO FOUR YEARS.
UH, BUT THE OPIOID CRISIS HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY OVER THE PAST THREE TO FOUR YEARS, AND WE REALLY NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS CHANGED SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHY IT AFFECTS US SO MUCH.
UM, I'VE INCLUDED THIS MAP, UH, THAT'S AVAILABLE TO YOU ON THE POWERPOINT.
WE DO NOT PUBLISH, UM, INDIVIDUAL PINPOINT MAPS OF OVERDOSES, UH, FOR THE SAME REASONS THAT WE DON'T, UH, PUBLISH INDIVIDUAL PINPOINT MAPS OF, UH, UNHOUSED COMMUNITIES AND CAMPS.
UH, WHAT WE DO TRACK IS BY ZIP CODE.
AND LOOKING AT THIS MAP, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE, THE HEAT, UH, INDEXES ARE DEFINITELY FOLLOWING I 35.
BUT WHAT I REALLY WANT YOU TO TAKE NOTE OF IN THIS MAP IS NOT WHERE THE CONCENTRATION OF OVERDOSES THAT WE'RE IDENTIFYING ARE, BUT THAT EVERY SINGLE PART OF OUR CITY AND OUR COMMUNITY IS BEING TOUCHED BY THE OPIOID CRISIS.
IT DOES NOT KNOW ANY GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES.
IT DOES NOT KNOW ANY ECONOMICAL BOUNDARIES.
THE OPIOID CRISIS GOES EVERYWHERE INTO OUR COMMUNITIES.
TRAVIS COUNTY HAS THE VERY, UM, UH,
[00:40:01]
WE'LL CALL IT A DISTINCT HONOR, BUT, UH, THIS IS A GRAPH OF ALL OF THE, UH, OPIATE OVERDOSE DEATHS IN 2022 GOING UP TO 2022.UH, THE NUMBERS FOR 2023 HAVE NOT YET BEEN PUBLISHED.
UH, I'M VERY ANXIOUS TO SEE THEM, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT GOLD BAR AT THE VERY TOP, THAT IS TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND OUR NEXT CLOSEST COUNTY IS ABOUT HALF.
UM, THE COUNTIES REPRESENTED IN THIS GRAPH REPRESENT THE LARGEST, UH, METROPOLITAN AREAS IN TEXAS FROM HOUSTON, DALLAS, FORT WORTH, EL PASO, UM, SAN ANTONIO OS UH, TRAVIS COUNTY HAS TWICE THE NUMBER OF OPIATE DEATHS THAN ANY OTHER COUNTY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
SO WHAT'S CHANGED? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? WE HAVE A MENTAL STIGMA THAT SAYS PEOPLE OVERDOSE ON OPIATES THAT ARE HEROIN USERS, AND WE HAVE THIS KIND OF HOLLYWOOD IDEA OF PEOPLE USING HEROIN AND THEN DYING OF A HEROIN OVERDOSE.
THE DRUG SUPPLY HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS TO WHERE THE DRUG SUPPLY IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THE COMMUNITIES ALL UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST AND THE LARGE METROPOLITAN AREAS ON THE WEST COAST, WE NO LONGER HAVE ORGANIC MATERIAL IN OUR DRUG SUPPLY.
SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHEN YOU THINK OF HEROIN, YOU THINK OF HEROIN THAT'S MADE FROM POPPY FLOWERS AND POPPY SEEDS IN AFGHANISTAN, AND THEN IT'S SHIPPED OVER HERE.
POPPY FARMS IN AFGHANISTAN ARE CLOSING DOWN AND GOING OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE THAT ORGANIC MATERIAL OF THE POPPY IS NO LONGER GOING INTO THE HEROIN SUPPLY THAT'S COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES.
THAT POPPY IS BEING REPLACED BY FENTANYL.
WE THINK OF COCOA PLANTS THAT ARE COMING FROM CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA BEING PROCESSED, AND THEN THE COCAINE IS BEING SMUGGLED ACROSS THE BORDER AND COMING INTO OUR COMMUNITIES.
THAT ALSO HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH FENTANYL.
AND SO ALL OF THESE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS ARE NO LONGER COMING ACROSS THE BORDER.
EVERYTHING IS BEING REPLACED WITH THIS FENTANYL OPIATE AND A COMBINATION OF OTHER THINGS TO PROVIDE SIMILAR HIGHS THAT PEOPLE WERE EXPERIENCING.
THE RAW MATERIALS FOR FENTANYL ARE BEING CREATED IN CHINA.
THERE ARE TWO PLANTS ACTUALLY IN WUHAN CHINA.
THERE IS ONE MORE PLANT IN INDIA, AND THOSE RAW INGREDIENTS ARE COMING OVER INTO MOSTLY MEXICO AND SOMETIMES INTO CANADA.
THEY'RE BEING REFINED AT THAT POINT INTO A F FENTANYL POWDER.
AND THEN THAT POWDER IS SMUGGLED ACROSS THE BORDER INTO TEXAS, WHERE IT IS THEN DISPERSED ACROSS THE, AND DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES.
IN THE UNITED STATES IS WHERE WE START MAKING SOME OF THESE COUNTERFEIT DRUGS OUT OF THE FENTANYL POWDER THAT'S COMING, UH, OVER THE BORDER.
SO I HAVE, I HAVE HELD BOTH A REAL AND A FAKE OXYCONTIN ONE THAT WAS PRESSED OUT OF FENTANYL POWDER, UM, THAT WAS BROUGHT OVER.
AND ONE THAT'S A LEGITIMATE OXYCODONE.
WHEN I HOLD 'EM TOGETHER, I CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM.
BUT IF I JUST WALKED INTO A ROOM AND ONE IS SITTING ON THE COUNTER, THERE'S NO POSSIBLE WAY THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL WHAT'S REAL AND WHAT'S FAKE.
WE CONSIDER A LETHAL DOSE OF FENTANYL TO BE 1.8 MILLIGRAMS. THAT'S A LOT OF FENTANYL, 1.8 MILLIGRAMS. UM, AT THE PORT OF LAREDO, WHICH IS ONE OF THE LARGER, LARGEST PORTS IN THE UNITED STATES, UH, THEY SEIZE 300 MILLION LETHAL DOSES OF FENTANYL PER MONTH.
THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE ABLE TO INTERCEPT AND SEIZE.
THAT DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR HOW MUCH ACTUALLY GETS ACROSS THE BORDER.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS IS NOT THE, THE HEROIN USE AND THE OVERDOSE THAT WE'VE ALWAYS IMAGINED.
FENTANYL IS BEING PACKED INTO OXYCODONE AND ADDERALL AND XANAX, HEROIN.
UM, IT'S GOING INTO METHAMPHETAMINES, IT'S GOING INTO COCAINE, IT'S GOING INTO ALL OF THESE DRUGS THAT WERE NORMALLY AN ORGANIC MATERIAL, A PLANT-BASED MATERIAL.
[00:45:01]
IT'S ALL SYNTHETIC.SO HERE'S THE SITUATION THAT WE KEEP RUNNING INTO.
IN, IN OUR CITY, SOMEONE OVERDOSES, UH, FROM OPIATES AND THEY HAVE NO IDEA THAT WHAT THEY BOUGHT HAD OPIATES IN IT.
THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE BUYING COCAINE, THEY THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE BUYING METHAMPHETAMINE.
THEY HAD NO IDEA THAT THEIR DRUGS ARE FULL OF FENTANYL.
SO HEROIN IS A COMBINATION OF FENTANYL AND ANOTHER DRUG CALLED XYLAZINE, WHICH YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF IN THE MEDIA.
IT'S A TRAN UH, VET VETERINARIAN TRANQUILIZER.
UH, AND IT'S MIXED IN DIFFERENT RATIOS TO GIVE YOU THAT HEROIN HIGH.
UM, SO THE, THE DRUG SUPPLY HAS CHANGED AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE SEEING SO MANY OVERDOSES, A LOT OF THEM BEING UNINTENTIONAL.
SO WHY EMS? WHY SHOULD EMS KIND OF STAND AT THE FRONT LINES ON THE OPIATE CRISIS? WELL, THERE ARE TWO MAJOR FACTORS THAT PLAY INTO THAT.
THE FIRST ONE BEING IS THIS STATISTIC THAT'S ON YOUR SCREEN NOW THAT SAYS 30% OF ALL OPIOID USERS WHO DIE OF AN OVERDOSE AT SOME POINT HAD AN INTERACTION WITH EMS INSIDE THE 12 MONTHS PRIOR TO THEIR DEATH.
WE'VE HAD AN INTERACTION WITH THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE DYING, SO WE WANTED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
UM, WHAT WE WERE SEEING IS THAT WE WOULD IDENTIFY AN OVERDOSE IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM.
WE WOULD REACH OUT TO THEM, WE WOULD START TRYING TO CONNECT THEM WITH SERVICES.
AND THE ANSWER FOR, UM, OPIATE ADDICTION IS LONG-TERM MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT, AND WE'RE GONNA JUMP INTO THAT HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
BUT WHILE PEOPLE WERE WAITING TO GET CONNECTED WITH THEIR LONG-TERM MEDICATION ASSISTED TREATMENT, THEY WERE CONTINUING TO USE AND WHILE THEY WERE CONTINUING TO USE, THEY WOULD OVERDOSE AND, AND WHILE THEY WERE WAITING TO GET INTO TREATMENT, THEY WOULD DIE.
AND WE, SO WE WERE IDENTIFYING PATIENTS AND THEN WE WERE WATCHING THEM DIE WHILE THEY WAITED ON TREATMENT.
SO THESE ARE THE TWO THINGS THAT REALLY MADE US, UH, STEP INTO ACTION AND DEVELOP THE PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE OPIOID CRISIS.
OKAY, SO WE HAVE AN OPIOID USE DISORDER PROGRAM.
THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT IS TO CONNECT PEOPLE TO RESOURCES, WHICH IS A BIG BULK OF WHAT WE DO.
UM, AND TO HELP PEOPLE, UH, RECOVER FROM THEIR OPIOID ADDICTION.
UH, THIS IS WHAT WE WERE DOING WHEN WE WOULD IDENTIFY PATIENTS.
SO RIGHT NOW, IF YOU OVERDOSE IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM, UH, 24 TO 48 HOURS LATER, SOMEONE FROM, UH, CAPTAIN SASSER'S TEAM IS GOING TO REACH OUT TO YOU.
THEY'RE GONNA COME TO YOUR HOUSE, OR THEY'RE GONNA FIND WHERE YOU LIVE, OR THEY'RE GONNA CALL YOU ON THE PHONE, WHATEVER DEMOGRAPHIC, DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO CONTACT YOU, UH, AND SAY, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU SAY, MIKE, ARE YOU OKAY? THAT'S WHERE HE STARTS.
ARE YOU OKAY? UM, NOT EVERYONE THAT WE CONTACT THAT OVERDOSES IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM IS READY FOR LONG-TERM TREATMENT.
NOT EVERYONE IS LOOKING TO STOP THEIR DRUG USE, BUT THE, THE CYCLE OF OPIOID USE IS A ROLLERCOASTER THAT IS JUST A HORRIBLE WAY TO LIVE.
IT'S VERY HARD TO MAKE DECISIONS.
YOU'RE ALWAYS HAVING TO GO UP WITH THE DRUGS AND DOWN WITH THE DRUGS.
UM, SO WE NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, THAN JUST PROVIDE SERVICES.
WE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO, UM, BUILD A BRIDGE.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE DID WITH OUR OPIATE BRIDGE PROGRAM.
NOW, AN OPIATE BRIDGE PROGRAM IS A PROGRAM THAT IS GOING TO TAKE PATIENTS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED.
WE ARE GOING TO MEDICATE THEM AND SUPPORT THEM UNTIL WE GET THEM INTO LONG-TERM TREATMENT IN HOPES THAT THEY'RE NOT GOING TO OVERDOSE.
WHEN THIS PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED, THE AVERAGE TIME TO GET INTO TREATMENT COULD BE TWO TO THREE WEEKS.
YEAH, WE'VE MADE SOME REALLY GREAT STRIDES SINCE THEN.
WE'RE TALKING IN THE PAST THREE
[00:50:01]
YEARS TO WHERE NET WE CAN NOW GET PEOPLE INTO TREATMENT WITHIN FOUR TO SEVEN DAYS.THE BUPRENORPHINE BRIDGE PROGRAM USES A MEDICATION CALLED BUPRENORPHINE.
IT IS VERY UNIQUE IN THAT IT BINDS TO OPIATE RECEPTORS STRONGER THAN OPIATES DO.
AND SO EVEN WHILE TAKING BUPRENORPHINE, IF YOU CONTINUE TO USE, YOU CANNOT OVERDOSE.
SO IT PREVENTS AN OVERDOSE UNTIL WE CAN GET YOU INTO LONG-TERM CARE.
UM, EVERYONE'S HEARD OF METHADONE.
METHADONE IS ONE OF THE MEDICATIONS THAT IS USED IN LONG-TERM MEDICATED ASSISTED TREATMENT.
THE NEW IMPROVEMENT FROM METHADONE IS BUPRENORPHINE.
THE PROBLEM WITH BUPRENORPHINE IS IT HAS TO BE ADMINISTERED EVERY SINGLE DAY, ONCE A DAY, SOMETIMES TWICE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU FIRST GET STARTED.
SO PRIOR TO THIS BRIDGE PROGRAM, IF YOU WANTED TO GET INTO LONG-TERM TREATMENT, MEDICATED ASSISTED TREATMENT, YOU HAD TO GO TO A DOCTOR, MOST LIKELY AN ADDICTION SPECIALIST.
OR SOMETIMES YOU WOULD END UP IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM.
TWO THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO OPIATE USE WILL GET YOU INTO AN EMERGENCY ROOM.
IF YOU TAKE TOO MUCH OPIATES AND YOU HAVE AN OVERDOSE, YOU CAN END UP IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM.
OR IF YOU TAKE TOO LITTLE AND YOU'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH FOR YOUR ADDICTION AND YOU'RE GOING THROUGH WITHDRAWALS, THAT WILL ALSO END YOU UP IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM.
BUT THE EMERGENCY ROOMS ARE NOT SET UP TO BRIDGE PEOPLE INTO LONG-TERM CARE.
THEY MIGHT GET A PRESCRIPTION FOR BUPRENORPHINE, BUT THEY GOT VERY LITTLE COACHING AND VERY LITTLE CONNECTION TO SERVICES.
SO WHAT CAPTAIN SASSER'S PROGRAM DOES IS THEY PROVIDE THAT BRIDGE.
WHAT MAKES THEM UNIQUE IN COMPARISON TO LIKE AN ADDICTION PHYSICIAN'S OFFICE IS THAT HIS TEAM IS WILLING TO MEET PEOPLE EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE.
WHETHER IF THAT'S IN THEIR HALF A MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE OR IF IT'S UNDER A BRIDGE OR IN A CREEK OR IN A MCDONALD'S PARKING LOT, THEY'RE WILLING TO MEET PEOPLE EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE.
THIS MEDICATION HAS TO BE ADMINISTERED ONCE A DAY.
THAT OFFERS A REALLY GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS, BECAUSE AFTER MIKE ASKS, HEY, ARE YOU OKAY? AND THEY SAY, HEY MAN, I WANNA GET OFF THIS ROLLER COASTER.
I WOULD LIKE TO GET INTO TREATMENT.
UH, MIKE'S TEAM IS GONNA START CONNECTING THEM WITH RESOURCES TO GET THEM INTO THAT TREATMENT.
MAYBE THEY NEED FUNDING, MAYBE, UH, IT'S A HOST OF THINGS FROM FUNDING TO KIND OF ALL THOSE THINGS THAT WE WERE ADDRESSING IN THE POP-UP RESOURCE CLINICS FROM CLOTHES OR HOUSING OR FOOD OR SHELTER.
UM, AND, UH, WHEN MIKE COMES OUT AND DOES THAT DOSE EVERY DAY UNTIL THEY GET INTO TREATMENT, WHICH COULD BE FOUR TO SEVEN DAYS, EVERY DAY HE'S COACHING THAT PERSON, HEY, HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY? DO WE NEED TO TWEAK YOUR DOSE? DO WE NEED TO CHANGE YOUR DOSE? DO YOU NEED MORE? DO YOU NEED LESS? UM, AS THE DAYS GO ON, WE GET INTO THAT THIRD AND FOURTH DAY, PEOPLE HAVE STARTED GETTING A CLEARER HEAD.
THEY'RE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DECISION MAKING SO THAT WHEN WE DO FINALLY DELIVER THIS PATIENT TO LONG-TERM TREATMENT, WE'VE ADDRESSED A LOT OF THE UNDERLYING ISSUES.
WE'VE, WE'VE CONNECTED THEM TO SERVICES, WE'VE PROVIDED THEM SOME FUNDING, AND WE PROVIDED THEM COACHING.
SO WE HAVE A REALLY, REALLY HIGH SUCCESS RATE IN OUR BUPRENORPHINE BRIDGE PROGRAM.
IF YOU GO TO A DOCTOR'S OFFICE AND, UH, GET A PRESCRIPTION FOR, UH, BUPRENORPHINE, THAT SUCCESS RATE IS LESS THAN 20.
IT HANGS ABOUT 18 TO 20% SUCCESS RATE OF PEOPLE GETTING INTO LONG-TERM CARE WITH JUST A PRESCRIPTION.
IT'S THE COACHING AND THE ABILITY TO MEET PEOPLE EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE THAT MAKES THIS PROGRAM SUCH A SUCCESS.
UM, ON THE SCREEN HERE, YOU CAN SEE THESE ARE THE, THE OVERDOSES THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM.
AND, AND THIS CHART GOES ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2018.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE HOW IT'S GROWING
[00:55:01]
IN OUR COMMUNITY.UH, AND BELOW THAT, ON THE ORANGE LINE IS OUR NARCAN RESCUE KIT PROGRAM, WHICH, UH, CHIEF CARR'S GONNA TALK ABOUT HERE IN JUST A MINUTE.
BUT THROUGHOUT THIS INCREASE IN OUR OUD PROGRAM AND, AND, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUPRENORPHINE BRIDGE PROGRAM, UM, THERE'S A BIG CELEBRATION TO BE HAD BECAUSE, UH, THE BRIDGE PROGRAM JUST CELEBRATED THEIR 500TH SUCCESSFUL BRIDGE TO LONG-TERM TREATMENT.
TO PUT THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S A LITTLE OVER 2000 INDIVIDUAL BUKE DOSES WHERE HIS TEAM WENT TO WHERE THAT PERSON WAS IN THEIR HOME OR, OR THEIR WORK OR WHEREVER IT IS TO ADMINISTER THAT DOSE.
THERE IS NOT ANY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT ON AN AMBULANCE OR ANY MEDICATION ON AN AMBULANCE THAT'S CHEAPER THAN BUPRENORPHINE.
SO WE DID 2000 DOSES AT $4 A PIECE.
I CAN'T BUY AN EKG MONITOR CHEAPER.
LIKE, LIKE, THERE'S NOTHING CHEAPER THAN BUPRENORPHINE.
IT IS ABSOLUTELY OUR BIGGEST BANG FOR OUR BUCK.
AND WE LIKE TO SAY THAT EMS SAVES LIVES.
THIS PROGRAM LITERALLY CHANGES LIVES.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO SEARCH, UH, GOOGLE FOR MEDIA.
WE DID A FEW INTERVIEWS THIS PAST WEEK WITH SOME OF THE PATIENTS THAT ENTERED INTO THIS PROGRAM AND WHAT THEIR LIFE IS LIKE NOW.
AND IT IS JUST GREAT TESTIMONY, UH, REALLY BIG WINS COMING OUT OF THE BUPRENORPHINE BRIDGE PROGRAM.
SO THE SECOND ASPECT OF HOW WE'RE DEALING WITH THE OPIOID CRISIS IS OUR OPIOID OVERDOSE RESCUE KITS.
SITTING ON THE TABLE IN FRONT OF YOU IS THE NEWEST VERSION OF OUR OPIOID RESCUE RESCUE KIT.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO OPEN IT AND KIND OF LOOK THROUGH IT TO SEE WHAT WE'RE HANDING OUT TO PEOPLE.
UM, DO YOU WANT ONE, HUH? OH, MY SLIDE.
THE RESCUE KITS INSIDE OF THIS RESCUE KIT IS A DRUG CALLED NARCAN.
NARCAN IS SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO BUPRENORPHINE IN THAT IT BINDS TO OPIATE RECEPTORS AS WELL.
BUT WHEN YOU'VE EXPERIENCED AN OVERDOSE, YOU CAN ADMINISTER NOT SELF-ADMINISTER, SOMEONE ELSE CAN ADMINISTER TO YOU, UH, THIS NARCAN INTRANASALLY SO THAT MEDICINE GOES INSIDE OF YOUR NOSE AND THEN THAT MEDICINE WILL BIND TO THOSE OPIATE RECEPTORS AND KICK THE OPIATES OFF AND PRETTY MUCH REVERSE YOUR OPIATE HIGH.
BUT WHAT THAT DOES IN REALITY IS LETS YOU START BREATHING AGAIN.
THE OPIATES, UM, SUPPRESS YOUR RESPIRATORY SYSTEM AND YOUR RESPIRATORY DRIVE.
THIS MEDICINE WILL REESTABLISH THAT.
UH, INSIDE THAT BAG ARE TWO DOSES.
UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTING THESE KITS, UH, FOR ABOUT THE PAST THREE YEARS, FOUR YEARS, 18.
LAST YEAR WE DISTRIBUTED 512 OF THESE KITS.
UM, A LOT OF HARM REDUCTION AGENCIES AND, AND ORGANIZATIONS ALSO DISTRIBUTE KITS.
UH, THERE ARE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF KITS THAT ARE DISTRIBUTED IN OUR COMMUNITY EVERY MONTH.
WE HAVE, UM, SOME AGENCIES THAT HAVE VENDING MACHINES WHERE YOU'RE ABLE TO, TO RECEIVE THESE NARCAN KITS.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US AND MORE OF THE COMMUNITY OUTREACH IS THESE KITS ARE GOING TO THE PATIENTS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM.
UM, I'LL LET CHIEF CARR TALK ABOUT THAT HERE IN JUST A SECOND.
UM, I JUST NEED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THIS PARTICULAR KIT IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, PRIOR TO 2023, NARCAN WAS PRETTY EASY TO GET IF YOU WERE IN PUBLIC SAFETY.
UH, THROUGH, THROUGH VARIOUS GRANTS AND GOVERNMENT FUNDING, UM, WE COULD LITERALLY ORDER PALLETS AND PALLETS OF NARCAN IN 2023.
THAT CHANGED BECAUSE NARCAN BECAME AVAILABLE OVER THE COUNTER.
UH, IT'S INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY, BUT IT'S ALSO MADE A COMPETITIVE MARKET FOR NARCAN WHERE I NOW HAVE TO COMPETE WITH CVS AND WALGREENS AND TARGET AND ALL OF THESE, UH,
[01:00:01]
CHAIN PHARMACIES.SO NOW THAT KIT THAT I JUST HANDED YOU COSTS US ABOUT $70 TO BUILD.
SO THIS YEAR ALONE, WE WILL USE SAMHSA FUNDING, WHICH IS GRANT FUNDING, BUT WE WILL SPEND HALF A MILLION DOLLARS ON NARCAN, WHERE PREVIOUS TO THIS YEAR, WE WERE ABLE TO OBTAIN ALL OF THAT FUNDING.
SO I'M GONNA PASS IT OFF, UH, TO CHIEF ANGELA CARR, WHERE SHE'S GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH THESE KIDS AND THE EDUCATION PROGRAM THAT GOES ALONG WITH IT.
AND I JUST WANNA DO A QUICK LITTLE TIME CHECK JUST TO MAKE SURE WE WE'RE AT FIVE O'CLOCK AND WE HAVE ANOTHER LIKE 15 MAYBE PUSH TO 20 MINUTES, UM, MORE ON THE ITEM.
SO JUST SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THAT IN MIND.
SO AGAIN, MY NAME'S ANGELA CARR.
GOOD TO SEE YOU THIS, UM, EVENING.
UH, WE HAVE A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH TO A BIG PROBLEM, UM, HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO ALONG WITH, UM, THE BUPRENORPHINE PROGRAM AND THE NARCAN KITS, WE'RE TRYING TO JUST, UM, ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AS BEST WE CAN, UM, AND TOUCH AS MANY PEOPLE AS WE CAN, UH, THROUGH THE PROCESS.
SO LIKE CHIEF WHITE WAS SAYING, THESE OVERDOSE RESCUE KITS ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED IN THE FOLLOW-UPS AND ALSO IN POTENTIAL THE, IN POTENTIALLY THE INITIAL 9 1 1 INTERACTION AS WELL.
LET'S SEE, WHAT, UM, SO WHAT, WHAT WE ARE SEEING, UM, AS WE'RE DISTRIBUTING THESE KITS IS THAT WE ARE AFFECTING A CHANGE THAT WE CAN MEASURE, UM, WITH LOOKING AT THE ADMINISTRATION OF NARCAN PRIOR TO OUR ARRIVAL.
SO, UM, AS WE WERE WORKING THROUGH SOME OF THESE ISSUES, WE, WE DISCOVERED THAT WE COULD TRACK THIS AND USE IT KIND OF AS A METRIC TO SEE HOW WE WERE DOING AND, AND, AND IF WE WERE ACTUALLY MAKING A CHANGE.
SO, UM, WE IN OCTOBER OF 2022, NOTICED THAT LESS THAN 20% OF THE CALLS THAT WE INTERACTED WITH, UM, THOSE PATIENTS, LESS THAN 20% OF THE TIME, RECEIVED NARCAN PRIOR TO EM S'S ARRIVAL.
IN AUGUST OF 23, AFTER WE HAD BEEN DISTRIBUTING MORE NARCAN.
UM, AND AFTER IT WAS COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE OVER THE COUNTER, WE'VE NOTICED THAT THERE WAS AN APPROXIMATELY 50% RATE OF NARCAN BEING ADMINISTERED PRIOR TO EMS ARRIVAL.
SO WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE HERE IS OUR, UH, FISCAL YEAR 24 Q1 DATA.
SO THAT'S GONNA BE OCTOBER OF 23 TO DECEMBER OF 23.
SO THE BEGINNING OF, OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO OUR TOTAL NARCAN ADMINISTERED PRIOR TO EMS ARRIVAL IS AT 78% NOW.
SO THAT'S A, THAT'S A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE THAT WE ARE MEASURING AND, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, THAT MEASURE.
YOU CAN ALSO SEE, UH, THAT OUR PARTNERS HERE FROM A FD AND A PD ARE ALSO PARTICIPATING IN THAT.
AND WE CAN SEE THAT THEY ARE ADMINISTERING NARCAN ON SCENE PRIOR TO EMS ARRIVAL AS WELL.
THE MAJORITY GREATER THAN 50% THOUGH, IS A FAMILY MEMBER OR A BYSTANDER ADMINISTERING THIS NARCAN TO THIS PATIENT PRIOR TO EMS ARRIVING PRIOR TO A FD OR A PD BEING ABLE TO ADMINISTER IT.
AND AGAIN, THESE ARE CRITICAL MOMENTS IN WHICH WE CAN AFFECT THE OUTCOME LONG TERM FOR THESE PATIENTS.
AND I THINK THAT IT'S JUST WORTHY OF NOTING.
UM, AND IT'S, AND IT'S A GREAT, IT'S A GREAT MEASURE THAT WE'RE SEEING SIGNIFICANT MOVEMENT ON.
SO WHAT WE ARE DOING WITH THESE NARCAN KITS IS WE ARE TRYING TO GET THEM OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND INTO CITY BUILDINGS.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO GET THEM OUT AND AVAILABLE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, CAPTAIN SASSER WAS ABLE TO DEVELOP A BREATHE NOW TRAINING, UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO BE, UM, HOPING TO UTILIZE IT IN A WAY MUCH LIKE, UM, CPR.
UM, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, IN 10 TO 15 MINUTES GIVE YOU LIFE SAVING MEASURES.
UM, BREATHE NOW IS A 15 MINUTE TRAINING THAT WE CAN, UM, WE CAN TEACH YOU THE INS AND OUTS.
[01:05:01]
UM, WE CAN TEACH YOU KIND OF THE PEARLS AND GIVE YOU A NARCAN KIT AND HAVE YOU ON YOUR WAY.UM, WE HAVE A GOAL OF DISTRIBUTING OVER 6,000 KITS THIS YEAR, AND WE ARE PARTNERING WITH A PH TO GET IT INTO CITY BUILDINGS AS WELL.
UM, WE WANT IT TO BE, UM, SOMETHING LIKE AN A ED THAT'S ON THE WALL.
PEOPLE KNOW HOW TO USE IT, THEY'RE COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
THEY KNOW WHEN TO DO IT, AND WE CAN AFFECT CHANGE THAT WAY.
HERE'S ALL OF, UM, THE REFERENCES AGAIN, WE'RE, UM, WE'RE IN A, IN AN EVER CHANGING ENVIRONMENT AND WE'RE, UM, TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, USE OUR BEST PRACTICES, UM, AND, AND, AND AIM FOR A MOVING TARGET.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE UNLESS THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS.
AND I ALSO WANNA, I WANNA GET TO THE HARM REDUCTION ALLIANCE IN VOCAL TEXAS.
CAN WE HAVE THEM SPEAK FIRST? YEAH.
CAN YOU GUYS GO AHEAD AND GIVE US YOUR THOUGHTS? I KNOW YOU GUYS HAD SOME, SOME, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND DO THAT FIRST 'CAUSE YOU MIGHT ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS TOO.
I'M A CO-DIRECTOR AT VOCAL TEXAS, FORMERLY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT THE TEXAS HARM REDUCTION ALLIANCE.
UM, AND I WISH WE HAD A LOT MORE TIME TO DIVE INTO SOME OF THIS STUFF AND RESPOND TO SOME OF WHAT Y'ALL HAVE ALREADY HEARD.
UM, BUT I JUST WANNA CAUTION, YOU KNOW, THAT AS WE THINK ABOUT OVERDOSES AND OUR POLICIES CONNECTED TO THEM, THAT WE DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN RHETORIC AROUND THE WAR ON DRUGS.
AND, UM, I THINK THIS, THE DRUG SEIZURES AT THE BORDER HAVEN'T TOTALLY BEEN VERIFIED.
UM, AND I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO THINK ABOUT KIND OF A PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, FRAMING, UH, WHICH IS WHY WE OFTEN SPEND TIME WITH THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE ON THIS ISSUE.
UM, BUT I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE TODAY BECAUSE I DO THINK WE NEED TO BE HAVING MORE CONVERSATIONS LIKE THIS WITH A FEW OTHER PEOPLE IN THE ROOM.
UM, SO GABBY'S GONNA GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT HARM REDUCTION IS AND HOW WE USE IT WHEN IT COMES TO OVERDOSE.
UM, BUT I WANTED TO BACK UP A LITTLE BIT AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE EFFORTS WE'VE MADE AS A COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS THE OVERDOSE CRISIS.
UM, THE TEXAS HARM REDUCTION ALLIANCE.
UH, WE WORKED CLOSELY WITH CITY COUNCIL AND THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO PASS, UH, THE RESOLUTIONS TO DECLARE THE OVERDOSE CRISIS, UH, A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY BECAUSE WE FEEL LIKE WE NEEDED TO HAVE MORE FUNDING, ATTENTION AND URGENCY PAID TO THE ISSUE THAN WE SAW HAPPENING.
UM, WE'RE VERY THANKFUL FOR SOME OF OUR PARTNERS, UM, AT EMS FOR THEIR WILLINGNESS TO HELP SUPPORT THESE COMMUNITY LED EFFORTS.
UM, BUT, UH, UNFORTUNATELY WE STILL HAVEN'T SEEN MUCH MOVEMENT ON SOME OF THE LIFESAVING STRATEGIES THAT WE'VE BEEN CLAMORING ABOUT FOR YEARS.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE COMMUNITY, THE, THE COUNCIL COMMISSIONERS, BUT ALSO WE, WE HAD A TOWN HALL THAT WAS PACKED WITH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE BACK IN 2020, UH, TO ON THIS ISSUE.
UM, MANY OF THOSE THINGS ARE TRUE TODAY.
UM, WE LACK COMPREHENSIVE HARM REDUCTION PROGRAMS. UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A DISCUSSION AROUND HOW TO KNOW IF FENTANYL ARE IN YOUR, IS IN YOUR DRUG SUPPLIER AND THE THE DRUG YOU'RE ABOUT TO USE.
AND ONE OF THE BEST TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IS DRUG CHECKING.
UM, WHY DON'T WE HAVE COMPREHENSIVE DRUG CHECKING IN AUSTIN SO THAT FOLKS KNOW IF THEY'RE ABOUT TO INGEST FENTANYL AND HOW MUCH AND WHAT OTHER, UM, SUBSTANCES MAY BE IN, IN THEIR DRUG SUPPLY.
UM, DRUG CHECKING NOT ONLY CAN HELP SAVE LIVES, BUT IT CAN ALSO HELP, UH, THROUGH BAD BACHELORS AND OTHER COMMUNITY STRATEGIES TO LET FOLKS KNOW THAT, HEY, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY CHECK YOUR DRUG IF YOU GOT IT.
UM, FROM, FROM THIS PERSON OR FROM, UH, FROM THE SUPPLY.
WE HAVE TOOLS BEYOND JUST NARCAN, UM, AND WE'RE NOT USING THEM, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT AUTHORIZED IN THE STATE AND, AND IN AUSTIN.
UM, SO WE'D REALLY LIKE TO HAVE A DEEPER CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO TO ENACT DRUG CHECKING.
UM, AND SO YEAH, THE, THE, Y'ALL SAW SOME NUMBERS, RIGHT? SO IN 2021 WE SAW, UH, 118 FENTANYL RELATED OVERDOSE DEATHS.
MM-HMM
AND WE STILL ARE WAITING TO HEAR ABOUT 2023.
AND I'M NOT SURE WHY WE HAVE TO WAIT THIS LONG TO FIND OUT IF THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE GONNA DIE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
[01:10:01]
WE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF CITY LEADERS AT THE TOWN HALL AND THROUGH THE RESOLUTIONS, UM, WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND FASTER.IT'S NOT HELPFUL TO KNOW THAT 245 PEOPLE DIED, SIX, UH, YOU KNOW, OVER SIX MONTHS AGO.
THESE REPORTS ARE BEING PUBLISHED.
UM, SO WE'D LOVE TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO GET THAT INFORMATION SOONER.
UM, I WANNA DRAW Y'ALL'S ATTENTION TO THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED IN JUNE OF 2022, WHICH DECLARED THE CRISIS A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
UM, ON PAGE SIX OF THE RESOLUTION, UM, IT SAID THE CITY MANAGER SHALL PROVIDE A DIRECTIVE TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSION, UH, WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL PLAN OF ACTION THAT DEVELOPS AND PRIORITIZE THE STRATEGIES RELATED TO PREVENTION, TREATMENT, AND SUPPORT SERVICES FOR SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS.
I'M NOT GONNA READ THE WHOLE PIECE OF IT 'CAUSE I KNOW WE'RE LIMITED ON TIME, BUT, UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSION HASN'T HAD, UH, AN AGENDA ITEM RELATED TO THIS ISSUE YET.
AND I, IT SEEMS LIKE THIS COMMISSION AND THAT COMMISSION SHOULD BE WORKING TOGETHER TO ADDRESS, UH, WHAT THE CITY IS DOING OR, OR COULD BE DOING MORE OF.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT TO Y'ALL'S ATTENTION BECAUSE WE WORKED SO HARD, UH, TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE.
AND, AND IT FEELS LIKE UNLESS WE'RE SOUNDING THE ALARM DAY IN AND DAY OUT, THEN UM, WE FORGET THAT, UH, WE ARE, WE HAVE TO KEEP THE SPOTLIGHT ON.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT WE DID RECEIVE OPIOID SETTLEMENT DOLLARS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
THINK THE CITY RECEIVED $1.5 MILLION.
UM, WE WORKED HARD, AGAIN TO, UH, ENSURE THAT THOSE FUNDS WOULD GO TO HARM REDUCTION EFFORTS.
UM, I THINK SOME OF IT WENT TO SUPPORT EMSS, UH, ABILITY TO PURCHASE NARCAN AND NALOXONE, BUT THERE HASN'T BEEN THERE A PUBLIC REPORT ON THOSE FUNDS AND HOW THEY'VE BEEN SPENT.
UM, WE'D REALLY LIKE TO SEE MORE DETAILS ON THOSE DOLLARS AND HOW THEY'RE WORKING IN OUR COMMUNITY AND HOW, UM, MAYBE HOW WE COULD DO MORE WITH THEM.
THE COUNTY ALSO RECEIVED, UM, ALMOST THAT MUCH, AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE SHOULD BE WORKING TOGETHER TO MAXIMIZE THE IMPACT OF THOSE FUNDS OR ONE TIME, BUT THEY ARE GONNA BE COMING IN, UM, OVER THE NEXT, UH, 15 TO 20 YEARS.
SO, UM, I THINK I WILL PAUSE THERE AND LET LET GABBY GO.
I'M THE CAPACITY BUILDING MANAGER AT TEXAS HARM REDUCTION ALLIANCE.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING KATE.
AND I ALSO WANTED TO THANK Y'ALL FOR THE GREAT WORK YOU DO.
UM, I APPRECIATE ALWAYS HEARING ABOUT THE COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS WORK, AND IT'S, UH, SUCCESSFULLY IMPACTED A LOT OF OUR PARTICIPANTS AND PEOPLE IN MY PERSONAL LIFE AS WELL.
UM, OUR PROGRAM, TEXAS HARM REDUCTION ALLIANCE IS A DIRECT SERVICES PROGRAM THAT OPERATES HERE IN AUSTIN.
UM, WE SUPPORT PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN DRUG USE, IN REDUCING HARM IN OUR PROGRAM OPERATES IN MOBILE HEALTH CLINIC.
WE HAVE A DROP-IN CENTER, A REENTRY PROGRAM, AS WELL AS TRAINING.
UM, I MYSELF GO OUT AND TRAIN OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS IN OUR CITY, UM, TO IMPROVE KNOWLEDGE AROUND HARM REDUCTION.
HARM REDUCTION IS, UH, A PRACTICE AND APPROACH IS EVIDENCE-BASED.
UM, AND IT'S GOAL IS TO REDUCE HARM AROUND SUBSTANCE USE.
WE COME FROM THE FRAMEWORK THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT PEOPLE DO USE SUBSTANCES, AND AS IT WAS POINTED OUT THAT THE SUPPLY HAS CHANGED, THAT THE THE LANDSCAPE OF SUBSTANCE USE HAS CHANGED.
BUT WE KNOW THAT IS A PRETTY HUMAN PHENOMENON THAT'S HAPPENED OVER TIME.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO SUPPORT PEOPLE, NOT ONLY PEOPLE IN RECOVERY, BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE ACTIVELY USING, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE MANY MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY THAT ARE, AND THAT DESERVE TO LIVE HEALTHY DIGNIFIED LIVES.
HARM REDUCTION CAN HELP PEOPLE ENTER IN RECOVERY, BUT IT CAN ALSO HELP PEOPLE WITH ANY POSITIVE CHANGE.
THINGS LIKE REDUCING THE TRANSMISSION OF DISEASES LIKE HIV AND HEPATITIS C, AS WELL AS COMPLICATIONS FROM INJECTION DRUG USE, UM, AS WELL AS OVERDOSE DEATHS, WHICH WE'RE OF COURSE FOCUSED ON TODAY.
UM, I ALSO APPRECIATE HARM REDUCTION BECAUSE WE COME FROM A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE OF HEALTH.
I KNOW THAT I CAN SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS I SERVE REGARDING THEIR SUBSTANCE USE, BUT I ALSO SUPPORT THEM AS A WHOLE PERSON.
SO IF SOMEONE IS EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, WE'LL CONNECT THEM TO THOSE RESOURCES.
WE'LL MAKE THOSE CALLS WITH THEM AS WE HAVE BEFORE.
UM, IF SOMEONE NEEDS FOOD HYGIENE, A SHOWER, MEDICAL CARE, HIV TESTING, UM, WE CONNECT PEOPLE TO THOSE THINGS REGULARLY AS WELL.
AND HOUSING ASSESSMENTS TOO, UM, IN TERMS OF OVERDOSE, REALLY WANT TO ECHO, UH, A RESPONSE TO OVERDOSE THAT INCORPORATES A PUBLIC HEALTH FRAMEWORK AND A PEER SUPPORT FRAMEWORK.
WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE OF USING SUBSTANCES
[01:15:01]
AND WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS SUCCESSFULLY SUPPORT AND HELP OTHER PEOPLE WALKING IN THOSE SAME SHOES.UM, WE KNOW THAT FEAR OF ARREST IS A DETERRENT TO CALLING 9 1 1 IN THE CASE OF AN OVERDOSE, AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE HERE TODAY.
UM, AND WE ALSO KNOW THAT PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS ARE INCREDIBLY CAPABLE OF INTERVENING IN AN OVERDOSE EMERGENCY, UM, ESPECIALLY WHEN GIVEN NALOXONE AND TRAINED AND THAT NALOXONE DOES AND, AND WILL RESTORE BREATHING TO REVERSE AN OPIOID OVERDOSE.
IN 2023, OUR ORGANIZATION DISTRIBUTED 12,954 DOSES OF NALOXONE.
UM, THAT'S VIALS AND NASAL DOSES LIKE YOU'VE SEEN HERE TODAY.
AND WE HAVE TAKEN REPORTS OF AT LEAST 592 SUCCESSFUL OVERDOSE REVERSALS USING THE MEDICATION WE DISTRIBUTED.
UM, WE REACH OVER 727 PEOPLE EVERY MONTH ON AVERAGE, AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE DOING THAT WORK AND SUPPORTING COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UM, WHO ARE ENGAGED IN LIFESAVING WORK.
UM, THAT BEING SAID, AGAIN, WE NEED A RESPONSE THAT'S GOING TO BE ROOTED IN PEER SUPPORT AND PUBLIC HEALTH AND NOT ONE THAT IS PUNITIVE.
UM, THE GOALS, TRAINING AND STRUCTURE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IS NOT ALWAYS COMPATIBLE WITH THE GOALS OF THAT LIKE MEDICS OR PEERS MIGHT HAVE WHEN INTERVENING IN AN OVERDOSE RESPONSE.
AND AGAIN, THAT IS A BIG CONCERN IN OUR COMMUNITY.
I KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ARRESTED WHEN TRYING TO HELP A FRIEND WHO HAS OVERDOSED.
UM, I'VE SUPPORTED A PARTICIPANT WHO WAS AT A CAMP THAT WAS ARRESTED WHILE TALKING TO AN OFFICER ABOUT HER FRIEND'S OVERDOSE.
UM, AND WAS, WAS TAKEN AWAY AFTER THAT.
AND NOT ONLY DID IT NEGATIVELY IMPACT HER, BUT IT WAS ALSO ASSIGNED TO OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE PRESENT THAT THERE'S A RISK WITH CALLING 9 1 1.
AND WE DON'T WANT THAT RISK TO EXIST IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE COMFORTABLE CALLING.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE A STATE LAW THAT IS WEAKER THAN OTHER STATES WHEN IT COMES TO THE GOOD SAMARITAN LAW.
UM, WE WANT AUSTIN TO BEGIN AUTHORIZING EVIDENCE-BASED HARM REDUCTION STRATEGIES, INCLUDING DRUG CHECKING AND PROGRAMS. UM, AND WE'D NEED FUNDING AND SUPPORT FROM OUR CITY FOR HARM REDUCTION AND FOR HOUSING FIRST AND FOR THESE OTHER LIFESAVING INTERVENTIONS THAT CAN HELP, UM, CHANGE OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I'M GONNA GET TO QUESTIONS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP A COUPLE OF THINGS.
I DID IN, I DID MAKE SURE THAT THE RESOLUTION WAS IN BACKUP FOR EVERYBODY SO THAT EVERYBODY CAN REVIEW THAT.
AND WE ALSO PUT A LINK TO THE CURRENT DASHBOARD THAT IS, THAT'S BEING TRACKED.
IT DOES HAVE QUITE DATED INFORMATION.
IT'S NOT UPDATED AND IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE IT'S BEEN UPDATED IN A WHILE.
SO MY, MY FIRST QUESTION TO START OFF IS JUST HOW OFTEN IS THAT BEING UPDATED AND WHAT SORT OF PROCESSES ARE, IS EMS SORT OF EMBRACING TO MAKE THAT A MORE SORT OF CONTINUAL PROCESS AND, AND ONGOING SO THAT IT'S, SO YEAH.
YES, THAT DASHBOARD HAS, UH, WHAT THE PAST THREE WEEKS THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON GETTING THAT INFORMATION AUTOMATED SO IT'S NOT A MANUAL REPORTING ANYMORE, SO THAT WE CAN HAVE FREQUENT AND CONTINUOUS UPDATES ON THAT DASHBOARD.
AND IS THERE AN, UH, IS THERE AN ETA ON WHEN THAT, THAT WILL BE KIND OF TESTED AND UP AND RUNNING? SO THE AUTOMATED PROCESS IS COMPLETE? MM-HMM.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER NEN? AND WE ARE GONNA KEEP QUESTIONS TO ONE QUESTION EACH AND, 'CAUSE WE'VE GOT MAYBE LIKE FIVE MORE MINUTES AND WE CAN REVISIT THIS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO SAY ALL OF OUR WORDS NOW.
UM, AND THE COLLABORATIVE WORK WITH ALL THE AGENCIES AS IT COMES TO COMMUNITY HEALTH.
IT'S, IT'S, I THINK IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, OBJECTIVE THAT WE HAVE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I DID HAVE A QUESTION ON, AND, AND THANK YOU FOR, UH, EVERYONE'S SUPPORT IN THIS AND, AND ALL OF THE REPORTING OR, OR ALL OF THE, THE PRESENTATIONS GOING ON, THE DRUG CHECKING, UM, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING IT'S THROUGH FENTANYL STRIPS.
IS THAT CORRECT OR IS THERE ANOTHER WAY? UM, I'M JUST WONDERING HOW WE IMAGINE THAT DRUG CHECKING TO, UH, OCCUR AND HOW, UM, EMS OR ANY OF THE OTHER AGENCIES CAN SUPPORT IN THAT AND WHAT YOU ENVISION THAT TO LOOK LIKE.
FENTANYL TESTING STRIPS IS, IS ONE TOOL WITHIN THE
[01:20:01]
SPECTRUM OF DRUG CHECKING.THERE ARE MUCH MORE COMPREHENSIVE WAYS YOU CAN CHECK YOUR DRUG SUPPLY, UM, FROM MORE EXPENSIVE TO MORE AFFORDABLE.
UM, THERE ARE NOW XYLAZINE TEST STRIPS AS WELL.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE WORKED TO TRY TO LEGALIZE THEM AT THE STATE LEVEL.
UM, BUT THE PARAPHERNALIA LAW DOESN'T ACTUALLY SAY THAT FENTANYL TESTING STRIPS OR XYLAZINE TESTING STRIPS ARE ILLEGAL.
UH, WE HAVE, I THINK THERE WE NEED TO BE PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF OUR LAWS TO THE FULL EXTENT POSSIBLE.
AND I DO THINK THERE'S ROOM FOR US TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THOSE TOOLS, UM, AND FUND THEM HERE IN, WELL ACROSS THE STATE OF TEXAS WITHOUT CHANGING THAT LAW.
AND WE NEED SOME LEADERSHIP AROUND SAYING LIKE, PARAPHERNALIA ISN'T TALKING ABOUT FENTANYL TESTING STRIPS.
THAT IS AN OVERDOSE PREVENTION TOOL THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO THAT'S A, THAT'S THE FIRST STEP.
AND THEN I THINK THERE'S, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF GABBY YOU WANNA CHIME IN ON THIS, BUT THERE'S OTHER EFFORTS THAT UT AND WITH, UM, THE TEXAS DRUG USERS HEALTH ALLIANCE THAT ARE TRYING TO PUT, UM, KIND OF PILOT PROGRAMS TOGETHER FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE DRUG CHECKING TOOLS AND PROGRAMS. UM, SO IT'S, IT'S, IT'S HERE.
IT'S READY, WE'RE READY TO DO IT.
UH, WE JUST NEED THE SUPPORT OF OUR LEADERSHIP TO MOVE FORWARD.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DO COM COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.
UM, SO I HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS, BUT I'M JUST GONNA ASK THE ONE THAT I THINK MIGHT BE EASIEST TO ANSWER, UM, WHICH IS I HAVE A 15-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER.
SHE ASKED ABOUT, UH, HELPING PUT ON, UH, A HARM REDUCTION GROUNDED DRUG EDUCATION AT HER SCHOOL.
UM, AND, UH, AND I DID ENOUGH RESEARCH TO MAYBE FIGURE OUT THAT THERE SOMEBODY AT STANFORD HAS PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER THAT'S CONSIDERED VERY RESPECTABLE.
UM, IS THERE ANY EFFORT TO WORK WITH A ISD OR THE OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM ANYONE, UM, TO MAKE THAT AVAILABLE? UM, LIKE CITY, COUNTY, ALL THE DISTRICTS WIDE? UM, IS THE ANSWER NO,
SO, SO THE PROBLEM IS THAT NOBODY'S DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
I DO THINK THERE, I'VE HEARD THAT THERE'S SOME PREVENTION IN THE AS A ISD, BUT I'M JUST NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE EXTENT.
DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? UM, OH, COMMISSIONER SMITH, THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING ME CHECK SCREENS
I JUST HAVE, UM, A COUPLE OF WANTS FOR THE NEXT PRESENTATION.
UM, AS FAR AS DATA POINTS GO, IS IT, IS, IS THIS AN APPROPRIATE TIME OR DO I NEED TO WAIT FOR FUTURE AGENDA? NO, THIS IS PERFECT.
SO FOR MY PERKS, I WANNA UPDATE ON LO UH, THE LOCALES OF THE PERKS, THE OUTREACH STRATEGIES THEREOF, INCLUDING GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS THEREOF.
FOR MY B-B-B-B-P, I SEE A MAP OF OVERDOSING.
I ALSO THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO PROBABLY NOTE YOU ARTICULATED OUT LOUD THAT IT AFFECTS EVERYBODY, BUT ON THAT, THAT, THAT PIECE OF PAPER, WHEN SOMEONE LOOKS AT THE BACKUP, I THINK ACTUALLY PUTTING IN WRITING THAT JUST THE MAP OF OVERDOSING DOESN'T NECESSARILY ARTICULATE THE USAGE IN OTHER AREAS.
BUT IN THE BBP, I'D LIKE TO KNOW, UH, WHERE A MAP OF WHERE THE BBP BOOTS ON GROUND INTERVENTIONS HAPPEN.
I SEE A 93% SUCCESSFUL RATE, BUT I DON'T SEE WHERE YOU ALL ADMINISTERED THEM, UH, FOR YOUR RESCUE KITS.
I WANT BY ZIP WHERE THEY'RE BEING ADMINISTERED, I ALSO WANT BY ZIP WHERE NARCAN IS BEING ADMINISTERED PRIOR TO EMS ARRIVAL.
AND THEN LASTLY, IT WOULD BE NICE TO KNOW IF THERE'S ANY ABILITY IN THIS UPDATED AUTOMATED DASHBOARD, WE CAN GET THE OD CALLS THAT HAVE A RESULTING ARREST ATTACHED.
UM, YES, BECAUSE, AND THE, THE, THE, THE AUTOMATION OF THAT DASHBOARD IS PARTICULARLY, UM, OF INTEREST, UM, IN GETTING THAT UP AND RUNNING BECAUSE THAT KIND OF LIVE DATA CAN BE USEFUL TO THE HARM REDUCTION TEAMS ON THE GROUND AND IN, IN ADDITION TO EMS, UM, JUST IN TERMS OF RESPONDING AND IDENTIFYING BAD BATCHES.
AND, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE, THERE ARE A MULTITUDE OF USES.
SO GETTING THAT UP AND RUNNING WOULD BE AMAZING.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY.
WHEN REPORT BACK? UM, I THINK WE CAN, I MEAN, BEFORE SIX MONTHS, LET ME, LET'S, WE'LL PUT IT ON THE AGENDA AGAIN, BUT DEFINITELY LESS THAN SIX MONTHS.
[01:25:01]
I WOULD LIKE TO GET IT BACK BEFORE WE DO BUDGET STUFF IF WE CAN, BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.[4. Presentations by Chief of Staff Jeff Greenwalt, Austin Police Department; Chief of Staff Teresa Gardner, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services; and Chief of Staff Rob Vire, Austin Fire Department regarding electronic payroll system rollout. ]
ON THE AGENDA I THINK WILL BE A QUICK ONE.I JUST SAW CHIEF GREENWALD STEP OUT.
UM, BUT WE'RE GONNA BE JUST KIND OF REVISITING REALLY BRIEFLY.
UM, THE ELECTRONIC PAYROLL SYSTEM ONBOARDING ROLLOUT, WE HEARD FIRST HEARD ABOUT IT BACK LAST SUMMER, UM, AND JUST KIND OF WANTED TO CHECK IN WITH THE DEPARTMENTS TO SEE HOW THAT'S GOING.
UM, EMS IS ALREADY 100% ON, IS THAT CORRECT? YES, MA'AM.
AND FIRE, WE ARE IN PARALLEL PHASE RIGHT NOW.
I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL WANT THAT OR FOR A TIME SEC.
UH, AT TIMES SAKE, I CAN KIND OF GIVE YOU THE SHORT AND DIRTY BIT.
UH, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING TELE, UH, TELESTAFF FOR THE FIRST TIME FROM A NOVEL.
THEY, THEY TRANSITIONED OVER FROM ALREADY HAVING UTILIZED IT.
SO WE'RE THE FIRST DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY WHO'S USING TELESTAFF AS WELL.
UKG HAS A TIMEKEEPING SET SYSTEM.
AND THEN TELESTAFF IS A ROSTERING SCHEDULING PART.
SO WE'RE IMPLEMENTING TWO PHASES.
UH, WE STARTED DECEMBER 31ST, SO 2023 IN THE PARALLEL PHASE.
AND, UH, WE'RE ON TRACK RIGHT NOW.
THE GOAL IS TO GO LIVE, UH, APRIL 7TH.
WE HAVE A COUPLE MAJOR CHALLENGES THAT YOU CAN SEE HERE IN FRONT OF YOU.
UH, ONE OF THE, UH, CONFIGURATION ANOMALIES THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UH, JUST GOT OUTTA MEETINGS TODAY ABOUT, UH, FOR PAY PERIODS START AND END THAT ARE CONTRIBUTING TO SOME PRETTY HIGH DISCREPANCIES THAT ARE IN THE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS THAT COULD BE WRONG, UH, ON PAYCHEX.
SO WE, THAT'S A GO NO GO SITUATION RIGHT NOW.
WE CAN'T KNOWINGLY ENABLE A SYSTEM THAT HAS ERRORS OF THAT LEVEL.
SO, UH, WE HAVE ONE PAY PERIOD TO EVALUATE THAT SOLUTION IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT, UH, APRIL 7TH GO.
UM, WE'RE GONNA BE IDENTIFYING EVERYTHING WE CAN, UH, UP UNTIL MARCH 23RD.
AND IF ALL SIGNS GO, WE'LL STOP THE PARALLEL.
WE HAVE A PERIOD OF TWO WEEKS THERE THAT WE, UH, TRANSITION EVERYTHING OVER.
UH, ONE CHALLENGE OF THAT IS THERE ARE, UH, THAT'S, UH, 23RD IS THE END OF THE PAY PERIOD AND SOME OF THE REPORTS WE'VE GOTTEN IS ACTUALLY AFTER PAY PERIOD END.
SO WE'LL SEE HOW THAT GOES FOR A FD.
UM, IF THAT ALL GOES WELL, WE WILL BE GOING LIVE APRIL 7TH WITH THE MEAT AND POTATOES.
BUT AS ALWAYS, THERE IS, UH, CONTINUAL EVOLUTIONS AS WE TRY TO GET THERE.
THAT SECOND ONE, WHICH IS TALKING ABOUT THE DISPLAYS, HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE IN MAKING IT READABLE AND EASILY INTUITIVE TO THE END USER TO BE ABLE TO READ THEIR PAYCHECKS PROPERLY.
THERE'S SOME FEATURES WE CONTINUE TO TRY TO WORK WITH THE CITY AND THE UKG TO TRY TO GET ENABLED TO GET THERE.
UM, BUT THAT'S A NICE TO HAVE.
THAT FIRST ONE IS A CRITICAL GO NO GO SITUATION.
ARE THE, DO THE ISSUES IS, IS IT JUST BECAUSE THE SYSTEM ITSELF IS STANDARDIZED TO LIKE A SEVEN DAY WORK WEEK AND FIRES PAY, PAY PERIOD.
IS, IS, IS, IS, IS THAT PART OF IT OR, UH, THE, THE, FOR THE FIRST ONE FOR THE GO NO GO, UH, PAY PERIOD ENDS START IS BECAUSE WE, WE TRANSITION OVER THE MIDNIGHT HOUR ON HOW WE RECORD THAT.
UH, THERE ARE TIMES SPENT AND THAT'S TRIGGERING SOME ISSUES THAT, UH, THE UKG TEAM HADN'T EXPECTED.
AND I THINK A PD IS NEXT TO LET US KNOW HOW THINGS ARE GOING.
MANY OF THE SAME ISSUES THAT HE DESCRIBED.
WE HAVE ACTUALLY A DEDICATED, UH, A PD LIEUTENANT THAT'S WORKING ON THIS PROJECT FULL TIME.
THEY'RE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THE TRAIN THE TRAINERS.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE APPROXIMATELY A HUNDRED, 125 PEOPLE AT A PD THAT ARE GONNA BE TRAINERS THAT CAN GO OUT AND, AND JUST TRAIN EVERYBODY.
PARALLEL TESTING FOR US STARTS LATE MARCH.
AND DEPENDING ON THE SUCCESS OR PROBLEMS THAT THAT MIGHT, UM, CREATE, UH, WE WILL DICTATE THE ACTUAL GO LIVE, BUT WE'RE THINKING IT'S GONNA BE RIGHT IN JUNE.
AND I ACTUALLY, UM, HAVE A QUICK QUESTION JUST ON THIS AND THAT IS, SO IT'S ELECTRONIC PAYROLL, SO IT'S JUST IN TERMS OF TIMEKEEPING, WILL THE DEPARTMENTS BE ABLE TO TRACK TYPES OF ACTIVITY WITH THE, THIS, I MEAN, I KNOW WE DO SCHEDULING AND STUFF, BUT IT, WILL IT BE ABLE TO DETERMINE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT PEOPLE ARE LOGGED IN AS? DO YOU MEAN, UH, LIKE REGULAR TIME VERSUS OVERTIME, OR DO YOU MEAN SPECIFICALLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING THAT DAY? NO, I MEAN SPECIFICALLY LIKE WORK WORKLOAD TYPE STUFF, LIKE P ONE VERSUS NINE ONE ONE CALL RESPONSE VERSUS, YES.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, THAT KIND OF STUFF.
SO, UH, ONCE AGAIN, IT'S A TIME KEEPING AS WELL AS A SCHEDULING EFFORT.
SO IT ACTUALLY ADDRESSES YOUR QUESTION IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS.
ONE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SCHEDULE PEOPLE TO
[01:30:01]
SPECIFIC GROUPS OR PROJECTS OR EVEN EVENTS OF THAT.SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SAY, UH, FOR FIRE STATION, ARE THEY WORKING ON THIS UNIT OR ARE THEY WORKING AT THIS EVENT THIS PAST WEEKEND? BESSAM AND MUTUAL EVENT, WE HAD PEOPLE IDENTIFIED IN THAT, SO WE CAN ROSTER THEM ON THAT OR WHATEVER CAPACITY.
SECONDARILY, FOR THE TIMEKEEPING SIDE OF IT, YOU CAN USE PAY CODES AND WORK CODES TO GET VERY MUCH MORE GRANULAR.
ARE YOU ON DEPLOYMENT? WHICH DEPLOYMENT ARE YOU ON IF YOU'RE ON A STANDUP, BECAUSE WE HAD TO REQUIRE PEOPLE TO COME IN FOR A WEATHER EVENT THAT CAME INTO SUPPORT.
IT DOES HAVE THAT GRANULARITY.
SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET MUCH MORE ACCURATE AND DATA OUT OF IT.
AND I THINK YOU GUYS ARE GETTING AT ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I PUT THIS ON THE AGENDA IS BECAUSE I THINK AS A COMMISSION, UM, AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE IS REALLY INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING HOW SWORN OFFICERS SPEND THEIR TIME.
WE, WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT OVERTIME AND BEING SHORT STAFFED, BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE DATA ABOUT HOW A FIREFIGHTER SPENDS HIS DAY, HOW AN EMS, YOU KNOW, PARAMEDIC IS SPENDING THEIR DAY, HOW A POLICE OFFICER IS SPENDING THEIR DAY, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF YOUR DAY IS SPENT RESPONDING TO 9 1 1 CALLS VERSUS FILLING OUT REPORTS VERSUS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT VERSUS, UM, YOU KNOW, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT NON-EMERGENCY SORT OF SITUATIONS.
AND SO, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A WAY THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO SORT OF, IF THERE IS A WAY TO SORT OF START ENCODING SOME OF PAY, UM, AND, AND SORT OF TYING THAT TO PAYROLL IN SOME WAY.
AND SO I'M KIND OF JUST KIND OF SAYING IT OUT LOUD BECAUSE IT WOULD, WE ARE DESPERATELY IN NEED OF MORE GRANULAR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW OUR SWORN OFFICERS SPEND THEIR DAYS.
I THINK THIS WILL GET YOU BROAD, BROAD BRUSH STROKES ON WHAT THEY'RE ASSIGNED TO COVER, BUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING IN THERE, THIS ISN'T THE RIGHT TOOL AS IT'S BUILT RIGHT NOW.
IT MAY BE THERE, BUT THERE ARE OTHER TOOLS THAT MAY BE ABLE TO BE MORE SUFFICIENT AND BETTER FOR IT.
COMMISSIONER RUTAN, I THINK, WELL, I AGREE THAT THE IDEA OF KNOWING WHAT FOLKS ARE DOING IS VERY IMPORTANT.
I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS ABOUT THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN, ESPECIALLY AS WE ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS WHO ARE BURNOUT.
I THINK THE GOAL OF KNOWING WHAT FOLKS ARE DOING IS IMPORTANT, BUT WE HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE ASKING FROM SYSTEMS AND FROM INDIVIDUALS ON THE FRONT LINES.
UM, SO, UH, YEAH, I ACTUALLY WANT TO, UM, SECOND WHAT, UM, CHAIR RAMIREZ WAS SAYING, AND, AND IF THIS ISN'T A SYSTEM, IT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE LIKE A LAWSUIT AGAINST A PD RIGHT NOW AND AT THE HEART OF THAT LAWSUIT IS WHETHER OR NOT ONE OFFICER WAS LEFT TO RESPOND TO HIGH PRIORITY CALLS BY THEMSELVES BECAUSE OTHER OFFICERS IN THE AREA REFUSED TO RESPOND OR JUST WEREN'T RESPONDING.
UM, I MEAN THIS IS REALLY OPERATIONALLY IMPORTANT IN TERMS OF, UM, BEING ABLE TO KNOW WHAT OFFICERS ARE DOING.
UM, YOU KNOW, I I MY IMPRESSION IS THAT FIRE IS EITHER LIKE IN THE FIRE STATION OR OUT OF THE FIRE STATION, LIKE IT'S KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, LIKE THAT'S A PRETTY CLEAR CUT BIG CATEGORY, UM, YOU KNOW, BUT, YOU KNOW, SITTING IN A PARKING LOT CHATTING VERSUS RESPONDING TO PRIORITY ZERO AND PRIORITY ONE CALLS, LIKE THAT'S A BIG DEAL.
UM, UH, CHIEF, HOW CAN WE, HOW CAN WE GET TO THAT? LIKE KNOWING WHAT'S GOING ON? UM, I'LL GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL ANSWER TODAY, AND I MAY HAVE TO BRING MY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS BACK FOR A MORE DETAILED ANSWER.
I KNOW THAT OUR OPEN DATA PORTAL IS GONNA ANSWER A LOT OF THOSE QUESTIONS.
I DON'T THINK IT'LL GET AS GRANULAR AS YOU'RE TALKING RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO PROBABLY FIND A WAY TO GET THAT INFORMATION FROM CAD.
CAD IS GONNA TELL YOU EXACTLY WHEN THEY'RE ON A CALL AND WHEN THEY'RE NOT.
I DON'T KNOW NOW THAT THAT'S EASIER SAID THAN DONE.
SO WHEN YOU TALK TO THE FOLKS THAT GRAB THIS STUFF FROM THE REPORTS AND, AND PUT IT IN SOME SORT OF A PUBLIC DIGESTIBLE MANNER, UM, SOMETIMES THAT'S EASY, SOMETIMES IT'S NOT.
AND THAT'S WHERE I NEED TO GET THEM IN THE ROOM AND, AND TALK ABOUT WHETHER THEY CAN JUST GRAB THAT AND PUT IT ON THE PORTAL OR IF THERE'S SOME SORT OF A TECHNOLOGICAL REASON WHY THEY CAN'T HAPPEN.
AND I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT DR.
UH, WHAT WHAT, UH, COMMISSIONER RUTTEN SAID.
I'M NOT NECESSARILY WANTING THIS TO NECESSARILY BE MORE BURDENSOME, BUT FROM A STAFF MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE AND DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE CONTINUALLY STRUGGLING WITH STAFFING, IT JUST, IT'S, IT WOULD BE MONUMENTALLY HELPFUL.
I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND THERE'S EVEN FOR A PDA CONSULTANT OF SOME SORT THAT'S WORKING WITH YOU GUYS.
I CAN'T REMEMBER THE, THE NAME BARRY DONE.
[01:35:01]
WORKING WITH YOU GUYS TO ASSESS THIS KIND OF STUFF.SO, UM, YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T WANT IT TO NECESSARILY BE MORE BURDENSOME, BUT I WANNA FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN LEVERAGE THE TOOLS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE TO BETTER SORT OF UNDERSTAND THIS.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, WITH
[5. Approve a Recommendation for the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget. ]
THAT, WE WILL MOVE ON.UM, WE ARE GONNA WHIP THROUGH, OH ACTUALLY I THINK WE'LL BE OKAY.
UM, WE HAVE BEFORE US A RECOMMENDATION.
UM, WE PUT TOGETHER A WORKING GROUP THAT CONSISTED OF COMMISSIONER RUTAN AND I
UM, IT WAS JUST THE TWO OF US, BUT I APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE IT MEANT THAT IT WAS JUST NOT ME.
UM, WE BASICALLY, UM, WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF SORT OF REVISITING OUR COMMISSION MEETINGS OVER THE PAST NINE TO 12 MONTHS AND SORT OF SURFACED, UM, WHERE IT WAS CLEARLY ARTICULATED THAT THERE WERE SOME NEEDS FROM THOSE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, AND WE PUT TOGETHER THE FOLLOWING SORT OF RECOMMENDATION.
UM, THE LIST, UM, WAS PRETTY HIGH.
IT'S, IT'S A PRETTY HIGH LEVEL RECOMMENDATION WITHOUT DOLLAR AMOUNTS.
AND ITS INTENT I THINK IS MOSTLY TO JUST SORT OF INDICATE SOME OF THE COMMISSION'S POTENTIAL PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT, FOR THE NEXT BUDGET SEASON.
IN ADDITION TO THIS, WE WOULD STILL LIKE TO VERY MUCH HEAR FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS WHEN THEY HAVE THEIR BUDGETS READY SO THAT WE CAN DO THE REVIEW OF UNMET NEEDS THAT WE DO EVERY YEAR.
I THINK THAT'S USUALLY MAY-ISH, JUNE-ISH.
UM, SO WE'LL BE DOING THAT IN ADDITION TO THIS.
BUT THIS IS JUST KIND OF THE FIRST STEP.
UM, AND I'M, I'M HOPING THAT IT CAN BE A STEP IN SORT OF BEGINNING SOME NEW SORT OF BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS AND KIND OF TYING THAT STUFF TOGETHER.
COMMISSIONER RUTAN, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE ON WHERE WE ARE? NO, I APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THIS AND TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE IN RESPONDING TO WHAT WE HEAR OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, BUT HOPEFULLY THIS IS HELPFUL TO FOLKS WHEN THEY REVIEWED IT.
DO WE WANT TO, AND SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO HELP ME WITH RECOMMENDATIONS.
I'M ALWAYS LIKE, DO WE HAVE, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AND LIKE SUGGESTED CHANGES, ADDITIONS, SUBTRACTIONS THAT WE'D LIKE TO DISCUSS? OKAY.
AND IF NOT, I'LL TAKE A MOTION FROM THE FLOOR TO VOTE ON THE RECOMMENDATION.
UH, I MOVE TO PASS THE RECOMMENDATION ON BUDGET, UH, AS IT IS.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND.
COMMISSIONER NEN IS THERE SECOND? AND WITH THAT WE WILL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE.
UM, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT? YES.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
UM, THIS IS NOT OUR ONLY CHANCE TO CHIME IN ON BUDGET.
MY HOPE IS THAT IN THE COMING MONTHS THAT WE CAN SORT OF PRIORITIZE AGENDA ITEMS WHERE, UM, IN ADVANCE OF THE BUDGET WHERE WE CAN SORT OF PRIORITIZE AGENDA ITEMS THAT WE WANT THE CITY TO BE PRIORITIZING.
AND THAT YES, COMMISSIONER SMITH, UM, JUST FOR THE RECORD, THERE'S ALSO THE RECONCILIATION HAPPENING YES.
SO I'D LOVE, I MEAN I, I BELIEVE EMS YOU GUYS HAD A BIG TICKET ITEM ON THAT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANTED TO SAY FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER, THERE'S ALSO THAT GOING ON.
IF, IF THERE'S ANY ROOM TO DISCUSS THAT OH YEAH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
[7. Public Safety Wellness Center Working Group update on a tour of the facility. ]
WE WILL MOVE ON TO WHAT COMES NEXT, WHICH IS, I'M ACTUALLY GONNA TAKE THINGS OUT OF ORDER FOR A SECOND.AND COMMISSIONER NEN, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE US THE PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER WORKING GROUP UPDATE.
SO, UM, COMMISSIONER RUAN AND I, UM, UH, HAD A TOUR WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER, UM, THIS PAST FRIDAY.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON, UH, PROVIDING SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, SO QUICKLY AND SWIFTLY.
SO, UM, WE HAD A BETTER PERSPECTIVE.
I, I THINK IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO GET A, A GROUND LEVEL, UM, LOOK AT WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE AND, AND HOW WE CAN BEST PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUPPORT.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE, UH, WHERE ARE WE ARE AT THIS MOMENT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE WITH DISCUSSIONS MOVING FORWARD.
I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER HOLMES IS GONNA TRY TO FIND AN OPPORTUNITY TO TOUR THE FACILITY HIMSELF.
[01:40:01]
ALSO GET, UH, A GROUND LEVEL PERSPECTIVE ON IT.AND THAT, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE AT THIS MOMENT.
[6. Collective Sex Crimes Response Model (CSCRM) Working Group update on project status and Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Unmet Needs budget requests.]
LEAVES US WITH ONE MORE ITEM AND THAT WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS, UM, THE LAST ITEM THAT WE HAVE TO DISCUSS IS AN UPDATE FROM THE COLLECTIVES SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL WORKING GROUP.UM, AND BASICALLY OUR LAST, UM, UPDATE THAT WE GOT, I DID UPDATE, I DID UPLOAD THE, TO BACKUP THE PRESENTATION THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THEM.
AND BASICALLY WE BA WE GOT THEIR FIRST DRAFT AND IT'S A DRAFT, IT'S THEIR FIRST PASS AT SORT OF, UM, UNMET NEEDS.
AND, UM, AND BUDGET ASKS FOR THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL.
UM, IT INCLUDE LOTS OF LINE ITEMS, UM, EVERYTHING FROM, UM, DOLLARS FOR TRAINING AND CURRICULUM FOR DETECTIVE STAFFING FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT, UM, FOR SURVIVOR SURVEYS.
UM, THEY ALSO ADDRESSED, UM, STIPENDS FOR VOLUNTEERS BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT ARE VOLUNTEERS TO JUST KIND OF HELP SUSTAINABILITY OF THE ONGOING PROJECT.
UM, THEY ARE SPENDING A LOT OF EFFORT ON MAKING SURE THAT SURVIVOR PAMPHLETS ARE BEING MADE AVAILABLE AND THAT THE, UM, IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES IN INCLUDING BRAILLE, UM, VIDEOS IN A SL.
SO THEY'RE SORT OF WORKING ON EXPANDING ALL OF THOSE SERVICES, ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES.
WE ALSO SPOKE BRIEFLY ABOUT THE SAFE FORENSIC NURSING PROGRAM AND SOME OF THE SHORTFALLS THAT THEY'RE HAVING AND THE GAPS THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO FILL.
UM, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THE MAJORITY, AND THE REASON I DIDN'T, UM, BRING THIS FORTH IN A RECOMMENDATION AT THIS POINT IS BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT A LOT OF THE C-S-C-R-M BUDGET REQUESTS AND UNMET NEEDS WILL BE INCLUDED IN APDS OVERALL, UM, BUDGET REQUESTS AND UNMET NEEDS.
AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO ACTUALLY SEE ALL THAT IN CONTEXT AND TOGETHER AS OPPOSED TO JUST ONE ISOLATED PROJECT.
WE NOW HAVE WHAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR AT THIS STAGE AND WE HAVE TRANSPARENCY AROUND THAT.
AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO COMPARE THAT WHEN WE GET THE OVERALL A PD BUDGET ASKS LATER ON, UM, IN THE CYCLE.
AND I FIGURED WE COULD SORT OF TAKE A LOOK AT THAT TOGETHER AT THAT POINT.
UM, AS FAR AS NEXT STEPS, THEY'RE, THEY'RE PRETTY FOCUSED ON THIS RIGHT NOW, UM, AND BUILDING SUPPORT FOR THAT.
AND I'LL, I'LL, I'LL GIVE US AN UPDATE WHEN WE HAVE MORE HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO.
AND IF, IF AT ANY POINT WHEN YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT THESE MATERIALS, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME, I DO NOT KNOW THAT I HAVE THE ANSWERS, BUT I CAN ASK THEM FOR US.
SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND QUESTIONS MY WAY WHEN, IF ANYTHING EVER COMES UP.
AND WITH THAT, I THINK WE ARE AT FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, CHAIR.
UH, CAN I ALSO JUST ASK FOR THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, IF ANYONE THAT WASN'T, UH, DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO EXPRESS, UH, JUMPING ONTO THE, ANY OF THE WORKING GROUPS FOR THEM TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY? 'CAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE SOME INFORMATION AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
WE HAVE TWO, UM, WORKING GROUPS.
WELL, THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL WORKING GROUP IS CLOSED.
WE DO HAVE THE PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS WORKING GROUP GOING ON RIGHT NOW AND THEY'RE WORKING ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER AND IDENTIFYING NEEDS, UM, AND SORT OF GETTING A HANDLE ON WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.
UM, SO YEAH, OF COURSE COMMISSIONER NGUYEN IS IN CHARGE OF THAT ONE, SO FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO HIM IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN JOINING HIM.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, DO WE HAVE ANYTHING THAT HASN'T ALREADY BEEN LISTED? I HAVE THINGS BUT GO AHEAD.UM, WELL, I MEAN IT, MAYBE I'M CONFUSED AND THIS IS ALREADY ON THE LIST, BUT I THINK THAT WE SHOULD, UM, SCHEDULE AN UPDATE ON THE OPIOID CRISIS.
OR THE OPIOID OVERDOSE CRISIS.
UM, AND MAYBE ALSO, I MEAN, WE SHOULD DEFINITELY REACH OUT TO THE PUBLIC, UM, HEALTH COMMISSION AND SEE ABOUT MAYBE A JOINT MEETING.
UM, I HAVE ONE THAT I'M GOING TO RESURFACE THAT CAME UP A LONG TIME AGO AND I THINK KIND OF FELL THROUGH THE CRACKS OVER TIME.
[01:45:01]
RENDER AID PROTOCOLS FOR A PD AND A FD AND WHEN EMS IS INVOLVED.UM, I DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A REVISIT OF THAT.
UM, UM, IT FIRST CAME UP WHEN MRS. ANG FOR CAME FIRST CAME OUT, UM, I MEAN AT THIS POINT, I THINK A YEAR AGO AND SHE BROUGHT IT UP AGAIN TODAY.
UM, SO RENDER EIGHT INPUT PROTOCOLS.
UM, THAT, THAT, THAT'S ON MY LIST.
AND THEN I THINK THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING AT THE OH, I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.
CHIEF GREENWALT, VIRTUAL MAGISTRATION PILOT, DO WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN? ARE WE DONE WITH VIRTUAL MAGISTRATION? WE STILL, YOU GUYS STILL MOVING FORWARD? DO WE NEED TO SCHEDULE AN UPDATE? THEY, UM, WE COULD PROBABLY HAVE A, A GOOD UPDATE FOR YOU NEXT MONTH.
THEY WENT THROUGH WITH THE MOCK TRIAL.
THEY HAVEN'T DONE THE PILOT WITH ACTUAL ARRESTED PERSONS YET.
AND WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT NOW IS, WE DEFINITELY PROVED THE FEASIBILITY LIKE IT COULD BE DONE.
WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER OR NOT THE RESOURCES THAT WE PUT INTO IT ARE WORTH, UM, THE LIFT, SO TO SPEAK.
UH, IT'S NOT AN EASY, IT WOULDN'T BE, IT WOULD NOT BE EASY TO GET OFF THE GROUND, BUT IT'S DOABLE I GUESS IS THE EASIEST WAY TO SAY IT.
ALRIGHT, WELL THEN THAT SOUNDS LIKE THAT NEEDS A REVISIT.
UM, AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WHEN THE NEXT TIME THAT WE TALK ABOUT IT THAT WE WOULD LOOP IN THE LOCAL MAGISTRATION PROCESS, LIKE THE LOCAL MAGISTRATE JUDGES, UM, AND KIND OF TAKE THAT ANGLE ON IT AS WELL.
IF WE NEED A SEPARATE, LIKE ACTUAL FULL AGENDA ITEM, I, I CAN WORK ON GETTING A SECOND FOR THE, JUST HEARING FROM THE MAGISTRATE JUDGES ABOUT THEIR, LIKE, YOU KNOW, PAY ISSUES AND CONCERNS WITH PHYSICAL, PRE PHYSICALLY PRESENT VERSUS VIRTUAL MAGISTRATE.
THE, THE, THE, THE ADDITIONAL MAGISTRATE JUDGES, THE HIRES I THINK WERE APPROVED LAST MEETING, LAST COUNCIL MEETINGS I THINK.
AND WITH THAT, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY MORE BURNING ITEMS, WE HAVE A LONG LIST THAT WE CAN GET TO
WELL THANK YOU EVERYONE, UM, FOR HANGING IN THERE.
UH, THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.