PITTSFIELD, Mass. - The Pittsfield Police Department is partnering with local service providers on a new initiative to help at-risk residents.

Pittsfield HUB launched in January. It connects people dealing with challenges like mental illness, homelessness or substance abuse with services that could help them.

A panel of representatives from more than 20 agencies meets every other week to review individual cases. The program has taken on seven cases over the last month.

Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn said most cases are addressed within 24 hours of each meeting, and the group approach helps make sure everyone gets the help they need.

"The interesting part about the HUB table is, everybody who agrees to take one of these situations knows they're going to have to tell their colleagues in two weeks what they did and how it went,” said Wynn. “So there's some degree of created accountability among the participants at the table."

Wynn and other members of the panel will present the city's homelessness advisory committee with an overview of their work so far on Wednesday.