The City, in partnership with Eliot Community Human Services, aims to launch its alternative to police response, the Lynn Calm Team, this fall. Eliot has posted two positions for the Lynn Calm Team and hopes to identify candidates quickly.
The full-time positions are for a Community Outreach Manager and a Community Support Specialist. Both require the applicant to be proficient in English and Spanish. The Collins Center at UMass Boston is serving as the project manager for the City as it implements the Lynn Calm Team (LCT), which will respond to situations involving conflict resolution, substance abuse and mental-health issues.
“We are excited to see this initiative become a reality,” said Mayor Jared C. Nicholson. “Given the innovative nature of the work, we have approached it thoughtfully and deliberatively. I am confident that we will assemble a team that is well prepared to perform this important work.”
The City worked with a marketing agency, to develop a logo and branding strategy for the Lynn Calm Team that signifies empathy, safety, equity and approachability. There was a community-engagement process that included feedback from a variety of stakeholders.
“As a member of the committee, I’ve trusted the process. The team that I’ve been working with has been dedicated to making sure that the resource we are creating will meet our needs. A tremendous amount of effort has gone into the design so that CALM is truly the vision of our community” said Dalene Basden, of Children’s Friend and Family Services in Lynn.
Barbara Atim Okeny, President of Diverse People United, said “unarmed response teams ensure that people are met with compassion and it also prevents loss of life through non-lethal de-escalation strategies.”
In an effort to continue involving the community, the City will be hosting two meetings to update the public on their progress. The first meeting is Monday, Oct. 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Demakes Family YMCA community room (40 Neptune Blvd). The second meeting will be conducted completely in Spanish on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the Lynn Housing Authority community room (10 Church St.).
Faustina Cuevas, the City’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, said Lynn has benefited from the experience of other communities.
“We have studied best practices as we moved forward with this initiative including being part of the Harvard Kennedy School’s ‘Alternative 911 Emergency Response community of practice,” Cuevas said. “We continue to learn more about what will and will not work in our community, and look forward to doing a soft launch this fall.”
Any questions about this initiative can be sent to Cuevas at [email protected].
The job postings can be found at bit.ly/3Nx5jFc and bit.ly/3Nx5tfM
