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W E D N E S D A Y
November 20, 2024 Vol. 45, No. 21
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JOURNAL @oakpark
Special Insert
of Oak Park and River Forest
Page B1
Oak Park plans phase 2 of alternative police response Role of Thrive Counseling Center may be expanded
Coming home
By LUZANE DRAUGHON Staff Reporter
REPORT BY LUZANE DRAUGHON, PAGE 8
PROVIDED BY HOUSING FORWARD
Home Depot donated backpacks as care packages for veterans in Housing Forward’s Victory’s Path. Through a Partnership with Hines Veterans Administration Hospital, which helps veterans experiencing homelessness to transition to stable housing.
How Oak Park shapes its response to 911 calls involving behavioral or mental health issues is now under discussion by village trustees. Options include building out a response program involving mental health practitioners hired within the village or to outsource much of the work to the local Thrive Counseling Center. An early consensus among trustees is to expand the role of Thrive, an Oak Park-based nonprofit which has long worked under contract to the village and its police department. See PHASE 2 on page 10
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