VIDEO: The Emergency Service Patrol is expected to receive $275,000 from the Fairbanks North Star Borough for its transportation and equipment needs, including defibrillators, following an amendment to the boroughโs most recent budget.
The program, run through the City of Fairbanks, involves a staff of security officers, clinically-trained social service providers, nurses, mental health professionals and peer support specialists responding to calls involving mental health crises, intoxication, domestic violence and other issues facing members of the community, both in homes and out on the street, and triaging their situation.
โThe whole purpose of it is to respond and provide services that get someone into a resource that can help them with whatever sort of issue is happening that needs to be addressed first,โ said Fairbanks Mayor Mindy OโNeall.
These calls used to go out to Fairbanks police and fire, as well as contract security personnel, with the Fairbanks City Council voting at the end of March to grant nearly a million dollars over three years to the new program.
