The City, in partnership with Eliot Community Human Services, aims to launch its alternative to police intervention, the Lynn Calm Team, this fall. Eliot has posted two positions for the Lynn Calm team and hopes to identify candidates quickly.

The full-time positions are for a Community Outreach Manager and a Community Support Specialist. Both require the candidate to be proficient in English and Spanish. The Collins Center at UMass Boston is serving as the city’s project manager for the implementation of the Lynn Calm Team (LCT), which will respond to situations involving conflict resolution, substance abuse and mental health issues. mental health.

“We are excited to see this initiative become a reality,” said Mayor Jared C. Nicholson. “Given the innovative nature of the work, we approached it thoughtfully and deliberately. I am confident that we will assemble a well-prepared team to accomplish this important work.

The City worked with a marketing agency to develop a logo and branding strategy for the Lynn Calm Team that symbolizes empathy, safety, equity and accessibility. There was a community engagement process that included feedback from various stakeholders.

“As a member of the committee, I have confidence in the process. The team I work with strives to ensure that the resource we create will meet our needs. Considerable effort went into the design to truly make CALM the vision of our community,” said Dalene Basden, Children’s Friends and Family Services in Lynn.

Barbara Atim Okeny, president of Diverse People United, said “unarmed response teams ensure that people are met with compassion and also prevent loss of life through non-lethal de-escalation strategies.”

In order to continue to involve the community, the City will organize two meetings to inform the public of the progress made. The first meeting will be held on Monday, October 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Demakes Family YMCA Community Hall (40 Neptune Blvd). The second meeting will be held entirely in Spanish on Thursday, November 7 at 5:30 p.m. in the Lynn Housing Authority Community Room (10 Church St.).

Faustina Cuevas, the city’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, said Lynn has benefited from the experience of other communities.

“We’ve been studying best practices as we’ve moved forward with this initiative, including being part of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Alternative 911 Emergency Response Community of Practice,” Cuevas said. “We continue to learn more about what will and will not work in our community, and we look forward to a soft launch this fall. »

Any questions about this initiative can be sent to Cuevas at (email protected).

Job offers can be viewed on bit.ly/3Nx5jFc and bit.ly/3Nx5tfM