Baltimore receives $1 million federal grant for 911 diversion

BALTIMORE, MD (WBFF) — A $1 million federal grant will help expand Baltimore’s efforts to divert more kinds of nonviolent 911 calls away from police officers, Mayor Brandon Scott said Monday.

Speaking to reporters at a Penn North library, Scott, a Democrat, said that with the $1,031,000 award, the city’s 911 diversion program will start servicing [types], broadening past the behavioral health crises the program was established to address.

The money, obtained by U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume through the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, “will allow us to provide better support and care for our residents, especially those who need it in some of the hardest moments of their lives,” Scott said.

Mfume, a Democrat representing Maryland’s 7th Congressional District, said at Monday’s news conference that he tries to understand what city leaders “are up against when there are not federal funds” for community projects helping “people everyday in real need.”

Read the full story on the Baltimore Sun.