Project Hope making good progress, receiving positive feedback
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — When Aaron Bergh and Becca Merryfield go to a public event, people come up to them and say they had no idea Project Hope existed.
Then people say they wished the program had been around for their loved ones before their loved ones overdosed, said Merryfield, who is employed by the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, at a meeting of the Dunn County Criminal Justice Collaborating Council on February 29.
“It has been a humbling experience,” Merryfield told the committee members.
Project Hope is a collaborative effort that was announced about a year ago between the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department and the Menomonie Police Department to help reduce the impacts of substance use on the quality of life and on crimes that are committed in the community.
The program is funded by grant money and is one of several pilot projects in Wisconsin.
Project Hope works primarily by using “deflection.”
There are two different strategies that can be used to help substance users: diversion and deflection.
Dunn County has used a treatment court/diversion strategy for a number of years for people facing first-time arrests or who have committed non-violent misdemeanor offenses.
In the diversion strategy, a crime has been committed, but rather than an individual being taken to jail and then going through the criminal justice system, programming is offered as an alternative to keep individuals out of the criminal justice system. As long as the person complies with the requirements of the program, no formal charges are filed, according to information provided by Bergh and Merryfield.
Bergh is an officer with the Menomonie Police Department.
In the deflection strategy, which is where Bergh and Merryfield concentrate their efforts, the object is to intervene with individuals who are at risk of entering the criminal justice system and offering services to prevent future law enforcement contact. No crime has been committed at this point, and the intention is to intervene before a crime is committed.
There are holes in other programs, and once someone is released, the jail will ask to see if there are other resources that can help at Project Hope, Merryfield said.
Angels and QRT
The Angels of Red Cedar is a community referral program, and the Quick Response Team is a multidisciplinary team that reaches out to individuals, Merryfield said.
For Law Enforcement Diversion, instead of criminal charges being filed, the person goes through programing, she said.
Bergh said they have been working to “streamline the process” and make it simple and efficient to find the individuals who need help. Often they find out about individuals who could benefit from Project Hope through word-of-mouth or in a passing conversation.
The Quick Response Team includes two paramedics, two people from Arbor Place and two people from Dunn County Human services behavioral heath, Merryfield said.
The Quick Response team has scheduled meetings and appointments to reach out as a team to those people who might not want to deal with law enforcement, she said.
Requirements
People who commit low dollar property crimes, for example, in conjunction with substance use, have five days to meet with him and Merryfield, Bergh said.
The requirements people must follow are to complete two classes, to “make it right” with the victim, to connect with a peer support group, with which Arbor Place can help, and to connect with a community organization such as Stepping Stones, the Dunn County Humane Society or area churches, to help bring them into a sense of community, he said.
People have three months to complete the requirements, and if they do, then no charges are filed, Bergh said.
If people fail to meet the requirements, then the case is kicked back to the arresting officer, who will complete the original report and issue a citation or forward the case to the district attorney, he said.
There are specific crimes that are minor offenses that qualify. Project Hope is a pilot program in Menomonie, and once the success of the program is determined, then maybe it can be extended to Dunn County, Merryfield said.
Statistics
Since the beginning of the program in October of 2022, there have been 584 client interactions, Bergh said.
One interaction is entered into the computer system, but one interaction may have included three face-to-face contacts with one person over the course of a day, he said.
Most of the people with whom Project Hope has interaction are between the ages of 35 and 44, and they are primarily male, Bergh said.
There are 50 clients who currently have open cases, and 80 client cases have been closed out, Merryfield said.
The reasons for the case closures is that Bergh and Merryfield cannot get in contact with the clients, or the clients do not want to continue with Project Hope contacts, she said.
The largest percentage of people have been referred to a substance abuse program, Merryfield said.
Many common referrals are for housing facilities.
“Housing is a huge issue for the population we are working with,” Merryfield said.
Many people are referred to the Kaleidoscope Center in Menomonie, and some of the grant money is going to the center for extended hours, she said.
The Kaleidoscope Peer Recovery Center is part of the Wisconsin Milkweed Alliance.
“Warm handoffs” to the Kaleidoscope Center, when the clients are driven there and introduced to the staff, have been very successful, Merryfield said.
The Kaleidoscope Center is located in the basement of Menomonie City Hall.
Day-to-day
The day-to-day tasks for Bergh and Merryfield in Project Hope include checking the calls for service from the previous night or the weekend to see who they should follow up with.
The next task is to enter the information into the computer system, Cordata.
Then they follow up with any new referrals, and check with their regular clients.
Part of their daily tasks involve providing connections to resources within the community to new and existing clients.
Clients are met at coffee shops or at their house, wherever they feel the most comfortable, Merryfield said.
“We are the boots on the ground, and we are also building a program,” she said.
Cairn House and the Kaleidoscope Center are an important part of Project Hope. The Bridge to Hope and Arbor Place are also important, Bergh said.
Cairn House, part of Stepping Stones, is the new 20-bed homeless shelter that opened in Menomonie last fall.
The question that Bergh and Merryfield face every day is “how can we keep you alive long enough so that tomorrow, you can start making changes,” Bergh said.
Bergh and Merryfield attend community events for the public relations aspect of the program.
There are programs around the state that are requesting information about our program, Bergh said.
Kaleidoscope
The Kaleidoscope Center is on a walk-in basis, Merryfield said.
The center provides a safe place for people to go “where no one is using,” she said.
The Kaleidoscope Center runs occasional programs and has peer-led discussion groups on a variety of issues, such as suicide, addiction and substance use, Bergh said.
One person on the CJCC asked about the Project Hope logo.
The logo is purple and green. Purple is for recovery, and green represents life-giving, Bergh said.
Another person asked what happens if someone comes to a coffee shop meeting and is intoxicated.
It depends on the situation. If someone drove to the meeting, then Bergh or Merryfield will call law enforcement because they do not want to jeopardize public safety or the Project Hope program.
If someone is in need of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous or other groups, Bergh and Merryfield will drive that person to meetings.
They also take people to places of employment for job applications. Wherever they take people, it is always the client’s decision, Merryfield said.
Project Hope receives many referrals, and it provides a different perspective than being a patrol officer, Merryfield said.
Positive feedback
Community-wide, Project Hope is receiving positive feedback, Bergh said.
At the community conversations held at the Menomonie Public Library, for example, they received many questions and feedback comments, he said.
Some resistance to the program was anticipated, said Kevin Bygd, Dunn County sheriff.
More resistance has been encountered among law enforcement officers, Merryfield said.
Bergh and Merryfield serve on the state committee for developing law enforcement standards for the program, and Menomonie is one of the pilot sites in the state, Merryfield said.
The various other projects sites are in all different communities of all different sizes, she said.
The feedback from the state of Wisconsin is they are pleased with the progress of the program, Sheriff Bygd said.
Some of the grant funding will be ending in September, but there is another grant for which an application will be submitted. There is an overlap between substance use and mental health, said another member of the Criminal Justice Collaborating Council.
The state grant is renewed annually and will be renewed again, the person said.
If you know of someone living in Menomonie who could benefit from the Project Hope program, or would like more information, Bergh can be contacted at 715-308-5475 or by e-mail at bergha@menomonie-wi.gov. Merryfield can be reached at 715-505-7211 or by e-mail at merryfield@co.dunn.wi.us.
