CTA deploying violence interrupters, mental health clinicians on trains this fall
<p>Dozens of non-law enforcement personnel trained to intervene in violence and mental health crises are expected to start riding trains this fall on the CTA Red, Blue and Green lines.</p><p>The Chicago Transit Authority board on Wednesday approved a $10 million, yearlong Crisis Intervention Safe Ride Specialist Pilot designed to complement the recent boost in security and police on trains and buses.</p><p>The specialists, drawn from contracts with four local groups, will don colorful vests while they provide mental, behavioral, and drug-use treatment services to those who need it, Nora Leerhsen, the CTA's acting president, told the board.</p><p>The largest of the four contracts, worth $6.6 million, goes to Metropolitan Family Services, the group that performs community violence intervention across the city. That group will provide 20 daily community violence intervention specialists on the Red Line, 7 days a week from Roosevelt to Lake Street in two shifts spanning from noon to 3:30 a.m., CTA's chief of security, Joe Bird, told board members.</p><p>Leerhsen said the pilot program was timed on purpose to complement the agency's "multi-layered security strategy" that included adding more cops and sheriff's deputies, helping <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2026/07/08/cta-transit-crime-security-surge" target="_blank" >drive a 30% decline in crime</a> over last year.</p><p>These new non-police personnel will help unload some of the work that has recently been addressed by police, she said.</p><p>"This is an incredibly historic moment to launch these programs ...
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>Dozens of non-law enforcement personnel trained to intervene in violence and mental health crises are expected to start riding trains this fall on the CTA Red, Blue and Green lines.</p><p>The Chicago Transit Authority board on Wednesday approved a $10 million, yearlong Crisis Intervention Safe Ride Specialist Pilot designed to complement the recent boost in security and police on trains and buses.</p><p>The specialists, drawn from contracts with four local groups, will don colorful vests while they provide mental, behavioral, and drug-use treatment services to those who need it, Nora Leerhsen, the CTA's acting president, told the board.</p><p>The largest of the four contracts, worth $6.6 million, goes to Metropolitan Family Services, the group that performs community violence intervention across the city. That group will provide 20 daily community violence intervention specialists on the Red Line, 7 days a week from Roosevelt to Lake Street in two shifts spanning from noon to 3:30 a.m., CTA's chief of security, Joe Bird, told board members.</p><p>Leerhsen said the pilot program was timed on purpose to complement the agency's "multi-layered security strategy" that included adding more cops and sheriff's deputies, helping <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2026/07/08/cta-transit-crime-security-surge" target="_blank" >drive a 30% decline in crime</a> over last year.</p><p>These new non-police personnel will help unload some of the work that has recently been addressed by police, she said.</p><p>"This is an incredibly historic moment to launch these programs ... following months of increased law enforcement ... doing things that are frankly not in their job description," Leerhsen said.</p><p>The remaining three contracts went to groups that will supply mental health, homelessness and substance abuse recovery intervention specialists to the Green and Blue lines.</p><p>One of those groups, Maywood-based Housing Forward, has a nearly $1 million deal to provide specialists on the Green Line from Harlem to Central Avenue, Molly Poppe, CTA's chief innovation officer, told the board.
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- <p>Dozens of non-law enforcement personnel trained to intervene in violence and mental health crises are expected to start riding trains this fall on the CTA Red, Blue and Green lines.</p><p>The Chicago Transit Authority board on Wednesday approved a $10 million, yearlong Crisis Intervention Safe Ride Specialist Pilot designed to complement the recent boost in security and police on trains and buses.</p><p>The specialists, drawn from contracts with four local groups, will don colorful vests while they provide mental, behavioral, and drug-use treatment services to those who need it, Nora Leerhsen, the CTA's acting president, told the board.</p><p>The largest of the four contracts, worth $6.6 million, goes to Metropolitan Family Services, the group that performs community violence intervention across the city. That group will provide 20 daily community violence intervention specialists on the Red Line, 7 days a week from Roosevelt to Lake Street in two shifts spanning from noon to 3:30 a.m., CTA's chief of security, Joe Bird, told board members.</p><p>Leerhsen said the pilot program was timed on purpose to complement the agency's "multi-layered security strategy" that included adding more cops and sheriff's deputies, helping <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2026/07/08/cta-transit-crime-security-surge" target="_blank" >drive a 30% decline in crime</a> over last year.</p><p>These new non-police personnel will help unload some of the work that has recently been addressed by police, she said.</p><p>"This is an incredibly historic moment to launch these programs ...
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CTA deploying violence interrupters, mental health clinicians on trains this fall
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times