WWW.SHAKER.LIFE | SUMMER 2022 57 One woman was suffering from anxiety. After talking to her, Amistadi discovered the woman had a chronic health problem that involved numerous doctor appointments. Her anxiety was coming from trying to find and pay for transportation to those appointments. Amistadi, who uses resources from her main job as well as the occasional Google search, helped the woman consider her options and navigate her insurance. “Mental health doesn’t live in a bubble. It’s all very much interconnected,” she says. Some of Amistadi’s interactions with Shaker residents are in person – if it’s a 911 call, police or medics must be present – but more often it’s over the phone. Many are eager to talk to her; some turn her away. That doesn’t stop Amistadi. “I have to find that window of when I can get in there and when they’re going to trust me.” she says. “It just takes a while. I guess it could never happen, but I’m at least going to try to make a difference.” Once MetroHealth finds the right person to succeed her – a tight job market has made hiring slow – Amistadi will be ready to guide that social worker with a whole new breadth of knowledge. “Over the past few months I’ve learned so much,” Amistadi says. “When I went to school there was no class on how to do this, or what it would look like, or how to work with EMS on the scene. As mental health professionals, we’re always looking at ways to do things differently and to do them better.” While DeMuth and Sweeney sing Amistadi’s praises, both look forward to having a full-time mental health professional onsite. Already they’ve seen the benefits to officers and firefighters, who regularly pick Amistadi’s brain about the cases they’ve seen. But at the same time, they acknowledge that a social worker is only part of the solution. Training is also part of it. Both chiefs have set goals to have all Shaker officers and firefighters take a 40-hour crisis intervention team training through the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County. Learning from experience is another part. Sweeney has hired an outside firm to create a database that tracks information on calls and follow-ups, allowing them to see who has needed assistance and what has worked – or not worked – in the past. DeMuth and Sweeney also hope for more opportunities with neighboring communities and partners, such as having social workers based at the regional 911 dispatch center to help determine the response needed. Or having mental health professionals available virtually around the clock for their rescue squads. “We know that we can’t have a social worker physically in a police car or in an ambulance 24/7,” Sweeney says. Still, the pilot is making an impact. English recently got to experience it first-hand. A week after Shaker police helped transfer her son to a hospital for the mentally ill, English received a check-in call from Amistadi. “That was nice to know that the work we did on the committee has had an immediate impact and a team is in place,” English says. Although she didn’t need Amistadi’s help this time, “it’s nice to know it’s there and she’s reaching out to people.” SL
2109829_CITY OF SHAKER_Summer2022_DE
To see the actual publication please follow the link above