Council continuing funding for diversion outreach

LETHBRIDGE – A team that intervened in more than 6,000 cases involving vulnerable people in Lethbridge will continue to be funded by the city.

Council has approved allocating $142,000 from corporate contingency funds for each of the next two years to keep the Diversion Outreach Team on the team. Councillors received the request from the Joint Action Team a year after the program was first created, in response to issues such as aggressive behaviour, panhandling, and public intoxication.

In the past year the team took part in more than 6,000 interventions, more than half in the downtown area, leading to positive feedback from businesses and fewer calls to police and fire/EMS.

“Too often we call upon our police to take care of this,” Councillor Ryan Parker said. “By having the Diversion Outreach Team it really helps in aiding and transporting these people, who are at risk, to the services that they need.”