A group of community health leaders is urging Akron City Council’s Budget Committee to continue funding the Street Team Program, an initiative aimed at preventing crime in the city’s neighborhoods.
The pilot program is “a proactive, community-based violence prevention effort using trusted messengers to connect with at-risk residents, de-escalate conflicts and offer alternatives to violence,” according to documents. Trained to recognize mental health issues and provide culturally grounded and trauma-informed care, two full-time “Curbside Counselors” have for one year served all ages across the city — including intensive services in certain areas and at the Summit County Juvenile Detention Center.
Pastor Jeffrey Dennis, the CEO of Minority Behavioral Health Group, reported that between October 2025 and March 2026, the Street Team Program:
- Served 192 individuals
- Delivered 638 points of contact
- Provided 16 different types of wraparound care — focusing on meeting behavioral health and basic needs
- Mediated conflicts 51 times
- Made workforce referrals 61 times
“We thank [the Curbside Counselors] for their courage, their dedication and willingness to serve on the front lines of this effort,” Dennis told City Council’s Budget Committee members on June 22. “It’s important to acknowledge this because this team will be present in our neighborhoods, building relationships, interrupting violence, preventing harm and connecting people to hope and to support.
“Their work represents the very best of community service and represents an effort toward healing in our community.”
Dennis spoke to committee members alongside Ciara Dennis-Morgan (chief clinical and wellness officer), Allyson Drinkard (principal evaluation scientist) and Marcel McDaniel, the executive director of Non Stop Growth.
Two ordinances City Council members are considering
If committee members agree to a favorable report during their June 29 meeting, the full council will vote on this legislation that evening:
- A one-year contract with Minority Behavioral Health Group to operate the Street Team Program’s Credible Messengers Initiative. If approved by City Council, the contract will run from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. (For 2026, City Council will budget $200,000 for the program, and the group will request a $250,000 contract in the 2027 budget.)
- A $50,000, one-year contract with Drinkard Enterprises LLC to provide data collection and analysis services to support the Street Team Program’s initiative.
How did Akron’s Street Team Program start?
In October 2024, City Council partnered with Minority Behavioral Health Group, an affiliate of the County of Summit Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board, to provide $185,000 for the organization to hire and train a Street Team during an 18-month pilot program.
