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CTA deploying violence interrupters, mental health clinicians on trains this fall

suntimes.com · 23h · first reportShare

Dozens of non-law enforcement personnel trained to intervene in violence and mental health crises are expected to start riding trains this fall on the CTA Red, Blue and Green lines. The Chicago Transit Authority board on Wednesday approved a $10 million, yearlong Crisis Intervention Safe Ride Specialist Pilot designed to complement the recent boost in security and police on trains and buses. The specialists, drawn from contracts with four local groups, will don colorful vests while they provide mental, behavioral, and drug-use treatment services to those who need it, Nora Leerhsen, the CTA's acting president, told the board. The largest of the four contracts, worth $6.6 million, goes to Metropolitan Family Services, the group that performs community violence intervention across the city. That group will provide 20 daily community violence intervention specialists on the Red Line, 7 days a week from Roosevelt to Lake Street in two shifts spanning from noon to 3:30 a.m., CTA's chief of s