At a May 5, 2026, Ypsilanti City Council meeting, council members approved an unarmed crisis response program for the city. This program is intended to address mental health emergencies, substance use, homelessness and other public health calls. Council members Amber Fellows and Desirae Simmons, both from Ward 3, brought forward a resolution to establish a city-run community responder program at the April 21, 2026, council meeting.
Voting for the resolution did not take place at the April 21 meeting and instead was tabled until the May 5 meeting.
"The program shall prioritize trauma-informed, non-coercive interventions; coordinate with EMS and police via a clear triage protocol; and track reduced police involvement and improved care connections," said language in the resolution. The resolution also requests a buy-in from the county, asking the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners to commit financial or resource support for the program.
The vote comes after criticism from community members on the police response to a man who barricaded himself in his home earlier this year.
Read more: Ypsilanti City Council to vote on unarmed response program after delay - The Eastern Echo
Previously, there was debate on where to source the funding for the unarmed response program. Simmons brought up an idea as to where the money for this program could come from. She believed that the funding should come from the remaining balance from the city's Fund 205.
Fellows said that the budget within Fund 205 can be used on housing trust and community responder and mental health programs.
“The interest accrued to Fund 205 should also go towards this because … the idea was for fund development towards the program, and so we want to have funds that build up over time,” Fellows said.
In further discussion, council members said that funding for housing trust and public bathrooms had already been allocated out of Fund 205. Since these had already been committed, the council subtracted $100,000 already committed funding from the amount to be used for the next two fiscal years for the unarmed response program.
“The amendment is that it be taken from Fund 205 … minus the housing and bathroom allocations,” Mayor Nicole Brown said.
This would result in a little over $900,000 to support the program, City Manager Andrew Hellenga said.
Council member Patrick McLean, Ward 2, said he thought the need for an unarmed response program was a worthy conversation, but one that should have been coupled with the rest of the budgeting process.
"This whole conversation belongs as part of the budget; it is a good conversation to have. It is an appropriate and important issue for a lot of people on this council, including me," McLean said. He said it was not made clear what the funding would be used for and how.
Fellows said the funds in 205 are already committed to projects like this program, and putting the funding toward the development of an unarmed response team helps meet the needs and requests of community.
Council members Simmons, Me'Chelle King, Roland Tooson, Mayor Pro-Tem Steve Wilcoxen and Mayor Brown voted yes on the amendment and the motion, with only one no from councilor Patrick McLean. Fellows attended the meeting by Zoom and was not a voting member of the quorum. The amendment and the motion were both approved.
