Lombard to hire social services agency for those in need

Lombard residents who repeatedly receive help from police or fire officials soon will be able to receive counseling and other assistance from a social service agency.

The village board unanimously approved a social services proposal Thursday night to spend $28,000 to hire an agency to provide crisis counseling and help residents with substance abuse, domestic violence and other family problems.

The funds will be available next fiscal year, which begins June 1.

The idea came from the village board's community relations committee, led by Trustee Laura Fitzpatrick.

“We spent the last three years trying to understand the need and trying to understand how we've handled this up until now and we've come to the conclusion that we do indeed need some sort of additional professional service,” Fitzpatrick said. “I don't think the need is going to get less; I think it's going to get greater.”

The village needs an outside social services agency because police officers and firefighters sometimes encounter situations that are not truly emergencies or crimes, but ongoing family issues.

“They don't really know what the next step is and it's not their job to know what the next step is,” Fitzpatrick said. “It's really above and beyond.”

The community relations committee has received preliminary information about available services from a few local agencies, including David Hahn & Associates, based in Villa Park.

Hahn said his company already provides social services to municipalities including Elmhurst, Oakbrook Terrace and Wood Dale. Each municipality requests different services, including 24-hour on-call availability for crises, help for domestic violence victims, and substance abuse counseling for drug addicts.

As local governments cut their budgets, Hahn said more are turning to outside agencies like his to provide counseling at a lower cost and zero liability.

The community relations committee provided documentation showing the fire department responded to the homes of 16 residents a total of 160 times in 2009 for nonemergency invalid assists. Police Chief Raymond Byrne said his department handles situations that may require counseling on a case-by-case basis, but did not provide details about how many such instances officers encounter.

Trustee Greg Gron voted in favor of hiring a social services agency, but said he wants more information showing why it is necessary.

“There are other programs around that volunteers could do just as well,” Gron said.

Trustee Zachary Wilson, a self-described proponent of small government and less spending, said he makes an exception for providing social services.

“This is one of those things I think the government should do for people that are truly needy,” Wilson said. “I think we owe it to those people to move forward on this.”

Village staff will now work with the community relations committee to choose the specific services the village wants to receive and which company will provide them.