The Peoria Police Department has officially opened a resource center in the East Bluff.
Police Chief Loren Marion said it’s been in the works for the past two years. That’s when Heartland Health Services bought the old Kroger Plaza on Wisconsin Avenue. Heartland donated space to the police department in an effort to bring more services to the community.
“It’s a multipurpose center. It will not be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We won’t have an officer at this location,” Marion said. “The importance of the resource center is to use it as a way to reach the community.”
Marion said it’s similar to the resource center at the Harrison Homes.
The center will be staffed by a civilian whose focus is completing needs assessments for community members and connecting them with things like emergency counseling, alcohol and drug treatment, employment opportunities, and assistance with documentation like driver’s licenses or birth certificates.
Chris Johnson will serve as the site’s focused deterrence project manager.
“I’m excited about this facility, because one of the hurdles that I’ve run into during the COVID period has been a place to meet and do the needs assessments, and find out the things we need to do to help people get over some of these hurdles,” Johnson said.
Dr. Gregg Stoner, Heartland’s chief medical officer, said initiatives like this meet the demands heard at the national level for reforms in how police dollars and time are spent.
“If there is such a thing as preventive policing, this is it, right here,” Stoner said. “Think about the things that he just announced he’s going to be focusing on and those social determinants of health and working with people in this region to help them with the barriers they have in their lives.”
The East Bluff Resource Center officially opened Wednesday. Marion said there are not yet set hours of operation. He said residents can call the non-emergency police line to be connected with services.
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