By MIKE DEAK, MyCentralJersey.com
The township has formalized an agreement with Somerset County to continue a shared-cost arrangement for a Community Police Alliance Coordinator, a two-year-old pilot program that Police Chief John Mitzak calls an “absolutely” valuable resource.
Dameon Stackhouse, the township resident who serves as Community Police Alliance Coordinator, follows up on police calls that involve psychiatric and other social issues, the chief explained.
“We solve the problems temporarily, then Mr. Stackhouse follows up behind us,” Mitzak said, adding that Stackhouse stays in contact with the people for weeks and months.
Stackhouse is on call day and night, said the chief, who added that he wants to see the program expand.
“It’s not fair to him to constantly be on call,” Mitzak said. “It’s too much for one person to handle.”
The chief also said Stackhouse’s work is “incalculable” to both the department and the community.
“We are always looking for other ways we can work with him to positively intervene in a situation before it becomes and emergency, and we get better outcomes for at-risk individuals as a result,” Mitzak said.
Township Administrator Michael Pappas said the township’s relationship with the county has been “very positive” and the program has been successful.
The agreement calls for the township to reimburse the county, which employs Stackhouse, $31,250 in the first year of the three-year agreement, $43,750 in the second year and $56,250 in the third year.
“This is a program every single member of our community should be proud of and is something that I have advocated for since my time on the Township Council,” Mayor Matthew Moench said in a statement. “Sometimes as an elected official you have the chance to fund a life-changing program that inarguably transcends politics or partisanship. This is that program, and the work Dameon is doing could not be more important to the most vulnerable in our community. ”
Stackhouse, who holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Rutgers, grew up in the Hobbstown section of Bridgewater. He graduated from Bridgewater-Raritan High School in 1994 where he was a star running back and linebacker, attracting the attention of NCAA Division I schools which dangled scholarships before him.
But substance abuse led to run-ins with the law that climaxed in 2006 with a 14-year state prison sentence on charges of robbery, eluding, burglary, theft, and obstructing justice.Stackhouse spent more than a decade in prison before his release in 2016, and he began his pursuit of higher education while still incarcerated. He has since devoted himself to helping those in the community who are most vulnerable.
The chief said Stackhouse regularly visits the Somerset Academy, an alternative high school run by the Somerset County Educational Services Commission for troubled adolescents.
Since Stackhouse began visiting the school, the chief said, the number of police calls to the Finderne facility has “gone down dramatically.”
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com