Government
BY MELISSA ENAJE
Harris County revives nonviolent 911 program Harris County commissioners voted 4-1 on June 4, with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ram- sey dissenting on all three votes, to continue and expand a countywide program that aims to use hospital-based interventions for nonemergency 911 calls instead of law enforcement. The details The Holistic Assistance Response Team pro- gram, referred to as HART, was created in March 2022 to improve community health and safety by providing responses to residents experiencing homelessness, behavioral health issues, or none- mergency health or social welfare concerns. HART dispatches 911 calls to interdisciplinary, unarmed rst responder teams trained in behav- ioral health and on-scene medical assistance. The program was paused in May after commis- sioners failed to reach an agreement on whether
$122M in upgrades planned for jails Harris County Commissioners approved on June 4 an estimated $122 million to address some of the most immediate needs through- out various Harris County jail facilities. Two county-appointed jail committees agree with the need to begin working on items expeditiously, including maintenance items related to re safety, plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. The impact Examples of high-cost priority items include: • More than $79 million for additional oors, renovations and upgrades to the facility at 701 N. San Jacinto St., Houston • More than $5 million for a re sprinkler system at 1200 Baker St., Houston
The Holistic Assistance Response Team connects underserved residents to services. People served by HART since 2022
Mental health/substance use
172
Housing/shelter
118
Food assistance
69
Other
60
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTHCOMMUNITY IMPACT
to pay Disaster Emergency Medical Assistance Consulting and Management, the vendor oversee- ing it. At the June meeting, commissioners also voted 4-1 to pay the vendor’s $200,000 invoice and improve the contract’s language to avoid further discrepancies. They also voted 4-1 on a seven-part plan to create an internal county system to oversee the HART program instead of contracting with an outside vendor.
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