Brian Smith, who heads the city of Minneapolis office responsible for launching teams of mental health professionals to defuse some conflicts traditionally handled by the police, was hailed this summer in Germany for his work which “addresses structural injustice “.
Back in Minneapolis, the future of the Office of Performance and Innovation (OPI), seen by its supporters as a key cog in the city’s efforts to expand public safety alternatives to armed police, is up in the air.
In the first three and a half months since the Minneapolis Behavioral Crisis Response Teams deployed, they diverted 1,600 emergency calls from police, Smith said. Crews currently operate on weekdays, but he expects units to expand around the clock, Monday through Sunday in the fall.
But city council members supporting the OPI’s mission have pressured Mayor Jacob Frey to define how the agency will operate going forward in regards to its ongoing restructuring of city hall governance structures. , and say they are dissatisfied with their responses so far. To further complicate matters, Smith and other OPI staff have spoken out publicly against Frey’s appointment of City Coordinator Heather Johnston, who got the job despite criticism that the office had become a “toxic, racist and dangerous workplace”.
Amid the town hall scramble, Smith was among three recipients – including the Ukrainian deputy prime minister – of the prize at this year’s Creative Bureaucracy Festival in Berlin. Smith, organizers said, “is responsible for overcoming the deep mistrust between the state and the people and, in particular, for protecting the socially disadvantaged.”
“The reward for me is the impact the work has had on the residents,” Smith said. “I don’t need thanks, but people like to be appreciated.”
Rewarded Challenges
Integrating a new mental health service into the existing emergency response system required a logistical and rational change that was sometimes frustrating but also enlightening, he said.
“It had its challenges because people were saying, ‘We know we have to change,’ but change means they have to learn new things, and that’s not always easier to get people to do,” Smith said. “Some of the very people who, in principle, agreed with the work we had to do, also created obstacles for us. But we solved all that.”
Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Erick Fors, whom Smith credits with championing the OPI’s work within the MPD, helped clear potential pitfalls and train the sworn base on what the units would do mental health mobiles and how they would interact.
“[Behavioral crisis response] has been really well received by the grassroots,” Fors said. requested quite regularly by our staff.”
OPI was created by a three-year Bloomberg grant in 2015. Subsequently, it has received ongoing funding from the city. His other duties have included assessing the city’s 22 departments, helping tenants avoid eviction, conducting an MPD staff survey, and launching the team that provides technical assistance to small businesses. .
“The beauty of working with them was…the way [the city] normally works with big developers, they will work together on our small business,” said chef Tomme Beevas of Pimento Jamaican Kitchen, who opened his location on Nicollet Avenue with a barbecue terrace in the garden thanks to the help of Smith. “It’s traditionally not done.
After speaking
As the mayor continues to reveal elements of his plan to restructure the city administration, the fate of the divisions under the office of the city coordinator has not yet been defined, causing some members of the city council to worry. of the eventual elimination of the OPI.
‘No roadmap has been given to the council on where these programs will be housed next,’ while delivering on a promise that those who have spoken out publicly will not lose their jobs, council member Robin Wonsley said. .
Council member Elliott Payne, who worked at the OPI until his election to the Ward 1 office last year, said he also wondered if the office would survive the transition or if people who criticized publicly the culture of City Hall would suffer professional repercussions. Additionally, he was concerned that the restructuring would leave the board without enough policy support staff.
In an email response to council members on Wednesday, Frey said he would transfer four full-time OPI staff to assist the city council in its legislative function, and that move will appear in his 2023 budget proposal. in August.
The answer leaves some questions unanswered, Payne said, given OPI has more than four staff and a slew of unfinished work.
“In my conversations with the mayor, I try to … prioritize legislative support,” Payne said. “I think OPI is well positioned to achieve this and I want to secure commitments to ensure OPI remains intact.”
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