CLEVELAND — More than one in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What You Need To Know

  • Akron launched a new mental health program called SCOUT 

  • SCOUT stands for Summit County Outreach Team 

  • It is a partnership between Akron Fire, Police and Portage Path Behavioral Health 

Data from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services shows a 353% increase in demand for behavioral health treatment between 2013 and 2019. Demand increased sharply during the pandemic and is now anticipated to increase further by 2030.

A pilot program called the Summit County Outreach Team or SCOUT in Akron hopes to help those facing a mental crisis with the goal to expand.

Dr. Tracy Yaeger is the President and CEO of Portage Path Behavioral Health. 

Mental health is a topic that is important to her, and it is one reason she has been working on this project meant to provide crisis intervention and much more to those facing a mental health crisis. 

Last year, the Akron City Council voted to allow the city to enter into a contract with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services Board for the program.

It is a partnership among first responders, including the Akron Police Department, Akron Fire Department, and a clinician with Portage Path Behavioral Health.

“To provide an alternative response to people in the community who are in crisis. Responding to a low acuity call, where there’s not necessarily criminal activity, but people are in a mental health crisis, substance abuse issue, something like that where they really need a different response than just a police response,” Yaeger said.

Yaeger said the team has responded to different kinds of situations to provide mental health support. 

“We’ve been running about a week and have had a number of calls, very different in nature, really showing that there’s different need for different individuals,” Yaeger said.

The SCOUT team can provide a full mental health evaluation on-scene and make sure they are taken care of after.

“In addition to trying to deescalate or help people who are in that crisis, we’re going to be providing places where people can get ongoing services to hopefully help them not have a need for services again,” Yaeger said.