The Bartlesville City Council approved two grant proposals Monday during a special meeting.

 

 One grant would provide $120,000 worth of funding over two years for mental health services for homeless persons along the Pathfinder Parkway.

 

Bartlesville Police Chief Kevin Ickleberry  says the grants provide a good opportunity for the city

 

The Opioid Abatement Project grant from the state of Oklahoma will fund two certified professionals with Grand Mental Health to accompany officers on the Crisis Intervention Response Team, who patrol the Pathfinder daily. 

 

Ickleberry says the CIRT team averages 150 encounters with homeless poeple per month. Many of those people have mental health, addiction and overdose problems. The addition of the mental health professionals to the team will provide immediate assistance and treatment options.

 

The other grant is for disaster recovery assistance to the city through the state of Oklahoma following April's severe weather and the tornado damage in early May.

 

Grant Coordinator Lisa Beeman says the grant allows the city to recuperate some of the expenses for manpower and expenses incurred during clean up

 

The Police, Fire and Public Works Departments are currently completing the damage inventories, which will detail the actual costs of eligible expenditures incurred by the city.