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BSEs new process-driven boss may just be what the bourse needs – Moneycontrol

A process person and not a peoples manthis is what people who have worked and interacted with the new chief of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sundararaman Ramamurthy over the years have to say about him.

The new managing director and chief executive officer of BSE is an old hand at capital markets and a wiz in the often vexing segment of derivatives.

On November 28, the stock exchange said in a filing that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had approved the appointment of Ramamurthy as the MD and CEO. His appointment now has to be cleared by the shareholders of the exchange.

Nearly 19 years at rival the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in various capacities makes him the perfect choice for the job, according to one of his former colleagues.

The tech driver

The 62-year-old Ramamurthy was one of the key hands to shape the stock exchanges equity derivatives segment into the powerhouse it is today, with nearly 90 percent of the market share. NSEs enviable technological transformation and efficiency in clearing and settlement are attributed to Ramamurthys efforts.

At NSE, Ramamurthy handled an array of projects and also spearheaded the National Securities Clearing Corporation, the exchanges clearing house. His expertise in the area of capital markets is unparalleled and his track record at NSE would now be put to test at the rival exchange.

He was seen as the next in line for the top job at NSE but then he moved out, said a former colleague.

Ramamurthy quit NSE in late 2014 to join Bank of America (BofA), where he is the chief operating officer. His time at IDBI Bank in the early stage of this career helped Ramamurthy ease into his role at the multinational bank. He is credited with reducing impaired assets at the bank to almost nil, boosting the banks revenue during his stint.

But, not every feedback is positive. Described at times as unbending and inaccessible, Ramamurthy is recalled to be at loggerheads with many in the office. His approach to conflicts, at times, seemed somewhat petty to colleagues.

That said, there is little doubt that he was a stickler for rules and governance, which helped him immensely at his job. He is by the book and a stronghold in corporate governance but many times, things have become toxic too, says a colleague at BofA.

The upshot is that Ramamurthy has all the professional credentials to lead BSE into a growth path, especially since the stock exchange has become a publicly listed company and is accountable.

BSEs top job has been vacant for more than four months now after former chief Ashish Chauhan resigned to join NSE in July.

Chauhans move to NSE was in the aftermath of an ugly scam involving top executives Chitra Ramakrishnan and Ravi Narain, which resulted in a criminal inquiry against them. Ramakrishnan resigned from NSE in 2016 but it wasnt until 2022 that her wrongdoings came to light during a forensic audit. Ramamurthy has closely worked with both Narain and Ramakrishnan.

Notwithstanding the co-location scam at NSE perpetrated by top bosses, the stock exchange has risen to dizzy heights in terms of market share, technological superiority and clout.

The right man for a reboot

BSE, on the other hand, has been struggling to revive its derivatives segment with little success. Now more than before, it needs to fix its various issues in this segment and lure brokers.

Low volume in derivatives has meant that most brokers have stayed with NSE, leaving BSEs operations bereft of depth with high costs. With Ramamurthys experience and domain expertise, the fortunes of BSE could finally change.

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BSEs new process-driven boss may just be what the bourse needs - Moneycontrol

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Garner to break ground on new Public Safety Station Tuesday – CBS17.com

GARNER, N.C. (WNCN) Wake County and the Town of Garner are preparing to break ground on a new Public Safety Station Tuesday.

It comes after Garners Town Council unanimously approved the plans in September.

The estimated $10.2 million contract for the station was approved by the Wake County Board of Commissioners, officials stated.

The 16,816-square-foot facility will be built on the 7800 block of Caddy Road and will serve as a co-location of Garner Fire-Rescue, Town of Garner Police and Wake County EMS.

Officials said the building will include:

Tuesdays groundbreaking is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at the site location and will feature guest speakers from Wake County and the Town of Garner, according to a news release.

Organizers said parking will be available across the street for attendees.

The facility is expected to open for service by winter of 2023.

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Garner to break ground on new Public Safety Station Tuesday - CBS17.com

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Harbor Freight Tools to bring jobs to Hazleton with opening of new location – fox56.com

Harbor Freight Tools to bring jobs to Hazleton with opening of new location  fox56.com

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Harbor Freight Tools to bring jobs to Hazleton with opening of new location - fox56.com

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Live animal crib makes return at new location in Dublin – Belfast Telegraph

Dublins live animal crib is to return this year but at its new home in St Stephens Green Park.

he Christmas tradition is usually set up outside Mansion House, but it was cancelled earlier this month.

However, following discussions with the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), the Office of Public Works (OPW) confirmed the move to the Summer House in St Stephens Green Park.

The crib will be back on December 8 and will include shelter to a donkey, two sheep, and a goat, gathered around a scene which captures the Nativity story.

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The live animal crib has been a feature in Dublin for almost three decades (PA)

PA

The live crib was cancelled by Lord Mayor Caroline Conroy, a Green Party member, who said it was good, but we can do better, suggesting choirs, games, or a Santa postbox would be more interactive for children.

In a statement, a spokesman for the OPW said animal welfare is paramount and the shelter in the Summer House will be installed in line with the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council guidelines.

The department said the animals will be tended to on-site every day by their owner and will return to their farm in Wicklow each afternoon.

Members of the public will not be able to enter the Summer House, but will be able to see the crib from the outside.

Patrick ODonovan, the minister with responsibility for the OPW, said: I am delighted that the OPW and IFA were able to find a location so that the live animal crib can return to Dublin for the 27th year in a row to delight children in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

I believe St Stephens Green offers an appropriate, sheltered space for the animals and is easily accessible for the public.

As a parent, I understand how popular this nativity scene with real animals is for thousands of families in and outside the city, and I look forward to its opening on December 8.

IFA president Tim Cullinan said: The live animal crib is a central part of the pre-Christmas experience in Dublin.

It also allows children to see animals in a traditional Nativity scene. The crib also serves to bring rural and urban communities together.

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Live animal crib makes return at new location in Dublin - Belfast Telegraph

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Google to pay Michigan $12M over location tracking services, experts say it’s a win for consumers Michigan Advance – Michigan Advance

Google this month agreed to pay out $391.5 million across 40 states, including $12 for Michigan, after attorneys general sued the technology company for being deceptive about their location tracking practices in what experts said is an important win for consumers.

The settlement was a result of attorneys general suing Google for violating consumer protections. The AGs said the company was misleading consumers into thinking their location tracking services were turned off while the company carried on collecting the information via web services, maps and other Google apps on Wi-Fi and cellular towers.

Additionally, until May 2018, Google tracked the location of those who had logged out of Google apps, even while this move led users to think they had disabled location services.

I am glad Michigan will benefit from this historic settlement, which lets Google know that its obtuse privacy practices have gone unchecked for too long, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement.

The attorneys general launched the investigation into Google after the Associated Press published an article in 2018 revealing the faults in Googles location tracking services. The lawsuit presented by the attorneys general examined the companys operations from 2014 to 2020.

As a result of the settlement, Google will have to make its location tracking practices clear, including revealing how the company collect location data and what data it is allowed to collect when users disable the services for one setting but not another. It will also be forced to explain to users how to turn off their location tracking, delete their acquired data in settings and how to put in place limits on data retention.

Sophia Brueckner, co-director of the Center for Ethics, Society and Computing at the University of Michigan, said that this is a very good step for consumers because it ensures companies, like Google, have to be more transparent. She said it also enables users to have more granular control over if they want to opt-in or opt-out of a tracking service.

I think they are key to how we incorporate these technologies into our lives going forward, Brueckner said. So I think thats a really good decision.

Brueckner noted how important it is for consumers to have both control over and information about their data being collected, specifically location services, since location data can reveal a lot about a consumer. She also said consumers should know how their data is being used, whether it be given to an advertiser, police, and insurance company or some other entity.

The settlement follows a recent history of state attorneys general waging lawsuits against Big Tech companies over antitrust violations, harmful speech, breaches of privacy and illegal labor practices.

Salom Viljoen, an assistant law professor at the University of Michigan with a focus on the political economy of social data, said that there has been a lot more success at the state level than the federal level in bringing enforcement actions against Big Tech because state requirements for civil litigations, like class action lawsuits, are lower than those at the federal level.

Additionally, state level action has been more effective, according to Viljoen, because attorneys general have had more expertise, more capacity and more appetite for bringing privacy based consumer protection cases.

As the problem suddenly grew larger and more pervasive, [attorneys general are] really the people who have expertise and track records of success in bringing these kinds of claims, Viljoen said.

Viljoen said that while state level action was effective and that the settlement with Google is a first step, she emphasized the need for federal regulation to cement more help for consumers.

The goal should be to develop more substantive regulation, Viljoen said. And place substantive limits on location information, just given how valuable and how sensitive it is.

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Google to pay Michigan $12M over location tracking services, experts say it's a win for consumers Michigan Advance - Michigan Advance

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For a wireless zoning bylaw, fierce debate continues ahead of a town meeting vote. At stake: Widespread signal gaps in parts of Lenox. – Berkshire…

LENOX It took well over 150 hours of public meetings over at least 18 months, but in a two-day period this week, a highly debated wireless communications facilities bylaw made it from committee to a special town meeting ballot scheduled for Dec. 8.

The proposals movement to the town meeting started with a brisk 15-minute virtual meeting Monday night, as the Planning Board voted 4-0 to deliver the towns extensively workshopped bylaw proposal to the Select Board.

The Select Board then voted unanimously on Tuesday to include the plan for debate and a decision at the upcoming special town meeting on Dec. 8. It will be held at 7 p.m. in the Duffin Theatre at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School. A two-thirds supermajority is needed to approve the proposal.

A legally required public hearing on Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall and via Zoom will give supporters and opponents a sounding board.

The goal of the zoning bylaw is to help plug major cell signal gaps in sections of Lenox, especially downtown, the southeast neighborhoods and the village of Lenox Dale.

Supporters assert emergency calls are problematic for first responders and the public in low-signal areas. Opponents claim health hazard risks exist if cell towers are placed too close to homes.

The bylaw emphasizes that before a new tower is proposed in a residential district, the applicant must also demonstrate that it is not feasible or effective to locate the structure in other zones or on municipal facilities.

New free-standing towers require a minimum setback distance of 250 feet to the nearest residential property line. But the zoning board by a supermajority vote could reduce the setback to 1 1/2 times the height of the tower as long as the impact on surroundings is not substantially increased and there is no viable location without the reduction.

In commercial and industrial zones, the minimum setback must equal the height of the new tower. But the ZBA may allow a shorter setback if the shorter setback provides adequate safety and aesthetics.

In a nutshell, heres a summary of the bylaws other major goals applying to wireless communications towers, antennas, ground equipment and related accessory structures, as reviewed by Town Counsel Joel Bard of KP Law:

Accommodate the growing need and demand for wireless communications services.

Establish procedures to ensure that applications for facilities are reviewed to comply with federal, state, and local regulations followed by a decision within a reasonable period of time as required by state and federal regulations.

Minimize the impacts of facilities on surrounding land uses by establishing standards for location and compatibility.

Encourage the placement of facilities on existing structures to minimize new visual, aesthetic and public safety impacts, or effects upon the natural environment and wildlife.

Protect the character of the town while meeting the needs of its citizens to enjoy the benefits of wireless communications services.

Special permits from the towns zoning board would be needed for a new tower in the one-acre and three-acre residential zones, as well as commercial and industrial districts.

In all zones, ZBA approval would be required to install a facility on an existing structure, such as an existing tower, building, or other structure such as a water or fire tower or pole. Zoning board approval would be needed for substantial changes to existing facilities.

Applications for special permits have to demonstrate the need for a proposed facility, based on existing and proposed signal coverage, and show that alternative solutions are unavailable to reduce the impact on the community.

New wireless facilities cannot have an undue adverse impact on historic resources, scenic views, residential property values, or natural or man-made resources, the proposed bylaw states.

Ideally, it adds, a new facility shall be located on an existing structure, such as a tower, to avoid increasing its impact on the community.

Preferred locations for any new towers are along commercial and industrial corridors or in suitable municipal locations or other sites where the settings, other structures, and intensity of uses already in place are more compatible with the industrial nature of wireless facilities.

Remote locations on largely undeveloped areas may be acceptable if the result is a new tower that is generally not visible to the public.

As a first preference, the bylaw advocates concealed co-location on an existing structure or attachment to an existing tower without a substantial change. Second, third and fourth preferences involve camouflaged location on existing facilities, substantial change to an existing base station or tower or a new camouflaged or concealed tower.

The least-preferred solution is a new unconcealed, non-camouflaged tower.

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Denver opens warming stations, overnight shelter due to freezing temps and snow – Rocky Mountain PBS

DENVER The City and County of Denver opened warming shelters, Tuesday, Nov. 29 amid freezing temperatures and a few inches of snow on the ground.

The snow is expected to end Tuesday afternoon, but Denver residents looking to get out of the cold can make use of the citys warming stations, which are located in the recreation centers in Denver.

The recreation centers will operate as warming stations offering water, bathrooms and a place to sit, if needed during regular business hours. A full list of recreation centers and their hours is available here.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock also announced that the Carla Madison Recreation Center (2401 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80206) will operate as an overnight shelter. The city is setting up cots for people to sleep in at the rec center. The center will close at 7 p.m. on Nov. 29 and open the next morning at 9 a.m.

The city also noted that while not officially warming stations, people can visit Denver Public Library locations for a break from the cold. Find a library location near you here.

The City and County of Denver is currently reviewing its guidelines on when warming shelters will open in the city after the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment received criticism earlier this month over outdated temperature thresholds.

The warming stations and overnight shelters are especially vital for people experiencing homelessness, who are at a disproportionately high risk of hypothermia and death.

Benjamin Dunning works with Denver Homeless Out Loud, an advocacy group for people experiencing homelessness. He said that while there is still a need for lots and lots of improvements, Denver is doing better than we have been for a while in terms of helping unhoused people during extreme weather.

Dunning said the key for taking care of unhoused people is making sure they have a safe place to sleep inside. Dunning noted, though, that many people dont necessarily feel safe in some of the overnight shelters in Denver.

Sleeping in congregate shelters with several people is a great risk because they become an easy target for other struggling folks, Dunning explained.

Denvers Department of Housing Stability recommends people go to front door facilities if they are in urgent need of shelters. These facilities, according to the department, offer both walk-up access and have the ability to refer (and sometimes transport) to other shelters as appropriate.

The Department of Housing Stability recommends these front door locations:

Dunning said that he would like to see Denvers faith community step up especially during extreme weather. There are hundreds of churches in Denver alone, and if they each accepted just a few unhoused people for overnight shelter, Dunning said, then they could dramatically reduce the number of people sleeping outside during dangerous weather.

For people eager to help, Dunning suggested donating cold weather gear to unhoused people, particularly high-quality cloves, coats and sleeping bags.

For more information on resources and places to donate, click here.

Kyle Cooke is the digital media manager for Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at kylecooke@rmpbs.org.

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Inspired: CentralReach Joins Bell Works in ‘Office of the Future’ – TAPinto.net

Inspired: CentralReach Joins Bell Works in 'Office of the Future'  TAPinto.net

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Characterisation of urban environment and activity across space and time using street images and deep learning in Accra | Scientific Reports -…

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RTD hires its first homeless outreach coordinator to visit stations, offer services to those illegally camped – The Colorado Sun

The tents are beside an icy creek, down a snowy ravine on the other side of the railroad tracks.

Theyre beyond a sign that warns no one to cross, and past a wire fence thats bent out of shape in multiple places by all the people who have stretched it to duck through. When the W-Line light rail train rounds the bend, its hardly audible above the biting November wind.

Sheridan Station, the RTD train station near West Colfax Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard, has for years been a popular spot for homeless campers. The ravine where they set up their tents is fenced on both sides to prevent people from entering, shrouded by a few creekside trees, and just far enough from the train platform that commuters dont see much.

Its a tough spot to access even for Alton Reynolds, a former city bus driver and counselor who is the Regional Transportation Districts first homeless outreach coordinator. Still, Reynolds has entered the ravine multiple times, offering connections to shelters, housing programs and mental health support, and usually with a few RTD police officers.

Hes also played frogger across the tracks to reach a couple of people camped on a slice of dirt between the light rail tracks and freight train tracks along the C and D lines. And he helped organize an A-Line cleanup of an encampment junkyard, where people were living in the shell of an abandoned Ford Explorer and VW bus, both draped with tarps and connected to tents.

For now, Reynolds is a one-man operation, striking up conversations in eight counties with people camping at train stations or sleeping on buses and trains beyond the end of the route, when passengers are required to exit. He is an employee of Jefferson Center, the community mental health center for Jefferson County, which applied to host the RTD grant-funded position.

In a booming voice, he announces his presence far before he reaches the door of a tent or a person sleeping on the ground.

My voice carries across the entire Union Station, I know that already, said Alton, who for six years drove RTD buses, including the notorious No. 15 along Colfax Avenue. I can get their attention from a long ways away. Its a good way for me to disarm a person.

Reynolds makes clear from the start that hes not a cop. Hes an outreach worker, he tells them, here to find out what they might need.

Tell me your story, and Ill try to help, he tells them. Reynolds can direct people to a homeless shelter, a hot meal or a needle-exchange program, or enter their contact information into the states housing prioritization database, which links people to housing programs based on their level of immediate need. He can also call in the crisis team at Jefferson Center for a mobile mental health assessment.

Reynolds doesnt push its more about listening. A person who has piles of food but is asking for more might need a mental health assessment instead of more food, for example. Someone who is openly using drugs gets contact information for the Harm Reduction Action Center. Tell them Alton sent you, he says.

He offers a step toward a new path, nothing too overwhelming. Thats a better start than where youre at at this point, he said.

Multiple times a day, Reynolds explains to people that theres no camping allowed on RTD property, even though its a public space, and that he hopes he doesnt see them camped next to the tracks or behind the elevators when he returns.

Public transportation systems for years have tried to find the right balance between compassion for those who are riding buses and trains to stay warm, or sleeping in stations because they dont have a home, and commuters expectations that they feel comfortable and safe on their way to work.

Long before the COVID pandemic pushed homelessness on public sidewalks and train stations to new levels, Steven Martingano, deputy chief of RTDs police force, realized the transit system should partner with the local mental health center.

Martingano noticed about five years ago that many people caught up in RTDs suspension program which bans people from RTD property anywhere from 30 days to life, depending on the crime had mental health issues. Their therapists at Denvers community mental health center appealed to RTD on their behalf, saying that without access to a bus or train, their patients could not pick up their medication or make appointments.

As a trial partnership, a mental health counselor from WellPower, Denvers community mental health center, accompanied RTD police officers. Within a week, Martingano said, it was obvious RTD needed a co-responder program.

Automatically, they were like, Hey, we really need to do this almost every day with RTD, recalled Martingano, who previously was a police officer in New York City, Arvada and Denver. They were meeting a lot of clients that were lost in the system. And a lot of the issues that the people were being charged with were disorderly conduct or hindering public transportation, but a lot of them were really medical. Someone just starts screaming on the bus, and the bus driver pulls over thats really a medical condition.

The following year, in 2019, RTD budgeted for four mental health co-responders.

Those clinicians ended up reconnecting with patients the mental health center had lost contact with and making hundreds of new appointments. Almost 30% of people offered mental health treatment were willing to participate.

Clinicians also discovered that most of the people they were meeting at the stations nearly 70%, according to WellPower data were homeless.

That statistic, and the effects of post-pandemic homelessness on the public transit system, inspired RTD to seek a federal grant, which covers Reynolds salary as the organizations first homelessness case manager.

The old philosophy used to be that were a transportation company, Martingano said. We just need to get people from A to Z. But once they leave our system, our property, thats no longer RTDs issue.

One of the biggest COVID-era effects on RTD came after the city worked with nonprofits to open two massive shelters at the National Western Complex after homeless shelters in downtown Denver closed. The shift meant hundreds of new riders were riding buses to north Denver.

If we didnt start building these partnerships, we would have never been prepared for how to handle that, Martingano said. Now were sitting at the table with all these metro agencies so that we can assist in whatever capacity that were able to.

Malcolm Moores tent is by itself at the back of a dirt lot, across the street from the A-Line. Hes had the RTD property in north Denvers industrial district to himself since February, except for the semitrucks that sometimes roll in for the night.

Moore, who was making spaghetti on a tiny camping stove on a recent afternoon, hasnt been asked to move because he isnt in anyones way, isnt using drugs and is far enough away from the tracks that its not a safety concern, Reynolds said. He hops on the light-rail train at East 40th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard to pick up his Amazon orders and other mail downtown, and sometimes, just to warm up.

Reynolds, though, is trying to help him find housing. Moore moved to the vacant lot in a snowstorm last winter after he contracted COVID while living in a rooftop encampment about a block away. He hadnt tried looking for housing until Reynolds offered to help a few weeks ago.

Up until then, I have been all about survival, said Moore, who lost his apartment in Denver in 2016 after the manager kept upping the rent.

Moore, 47, has a solar-powered generator that runs his laptop, which hes using to start a blog and podcast about homelessness. He set up motion-sensored lights in the dirt next to his tent, his security system to warn him if anyone creeps up on him in the night. When they go off, he shouts to scare intruders away.

When he was sick with COVID, his legs too lethargic to move, Reynolds posted his location online and asked for help. A kind woman appeared with bags of Advil, soup and Gatorade, and, Moore said, saved his life.

Its hard to live so isolated, but Moore prefers it to the chaos that, until a recent cleanup, was just across the street.

The encampment along the A-Line, anchored by abandoned vehicles and up against a chain-link fence along the tracks, was packed with people all day and night, Moore said. Ahead of a city cleanup a few weeks ago, Reynolds encouraged residents of the camp to move out on their own, salvaging the belongings they wanted to keep. He also offered connections to shelters and housing programs.

Lets work together to get all the dangerous items, the needles, the trash, the propane tanks out from over here so everybody can be safe, Reynolds said he told the campers. And by working with them and being honest about it we were able to pick up the area.

The encampment was in full view of riders of the A-Line train, including those just landing at Denver International Airport. It generated quite a number of calls to RTDs customer comment hotline.

You have visitors coming into town or even our normal commuters looking over here going, Hey, whats going on over here? This looks like a significant town, not just an encampment, but a town being built, Reynolds said.

The point of the homeless navigator isnt just to move campers away from the tracks so they can set up camp somewhere else, said Taylor Clepper, director of navigation and housing services at Jefferson Center.

What does that actually solve? Clapper asked. How do we get them to that next step on the path? How do we meet them where theyre at?

The mental health center applied to RTD to host the homeless navigator because the position filled a gap that was keeping people from crucial services, Clepper said. The navigator acts as a connector linking people at bus and train stations to mental health centers across the metro area.

And it makes sense for the navigator to cover the whole RTD region, Clepper said, because people who camp at stations are often moving anywhere RTD goes, from Boulder to Douglas County. Wherever they land, Reynolds can help get them into the right services, and coordinate services throughout several jurisdictions.

How this actually helps human beings is were able to better connect those dots and connect them with resources that are a good fit for what theyre actually going through, Clepper said.

The Denver mental health center, WellPower, now has more than 30 clinicians working in co-responder programs, starting with the Denver Police Department in 2016 and expanding to other agencies, including the Auraria college campus and the four positions with RTD.

Co-responders on the streets with law enforcement are the eyes and ears of what is happening in the moment while someone is in crisis, said Sam Rabins, manager of the Denver mental health center co-responder program. Case managers cant be with their entire caseload at every moment. Were able to really see that person in the moment and say, What do you need? and then have direct contact with their care team so that that person now gets their needs met.

One man who was contacted by RTD police about eight times a day for nearly two years is off the streets and in housing, thanks to co-responders who helped get him into services, Rabins said.

We just need to make public transportation equitable for all people that are utilizing it, she said. And if that means that the person who rides a train for warmth continues to do so and has supportive services outside of it, to me, that means weve done our job.

Along with the co-responder program, RTD is training its drivers about mental health response and placing brochures on trains and buses that list services available throughout the metro region. Another idea thats been discussed is playing informational videos at RTD stations or inside buses and trains that would educate people about where to get help for mental health or substance use.

RTD is saying lets train our bus drivers to be more educated and less like, Oh, someone thats talking to themselves just got on the bus, and all of a sudden, I need to radio up because I dont know what to do, said Chris Richardson, a co-responder and associate director of criminal justice services for the Denver mental health center.

It really is, how do you connect with someone on a very humanistic personal level that is not, Im afraid of you or Im concerned about what youre going to say. Youre taking off the barriers that allow people to feel like youre in it with them, and youre willing to help get them to that next step.

Eleven months into his job, Reynolds has had a front-row seat to the post-pandemic conflict between people without homes and business commuters. People complain about the encampments in light-rail stations. Other people complain when he forces campers to pack up and move along. Workers on the train complain that its too smelly or unsafe to ride.

Many of us quarantined ourselves. We stayed inside our homes. We locked our doors. We didnt go out, he said. Well, after that quarantine was lifted, I go up to my station and start to decide, Hey, I want to go downtown. Well, during that whole quarantine, they didnt have a house to go to so they were already on the buses and trains at that point, and the more you get to be on that train and bus without anybody bothering you, guess what, Im gonna get on it more often.

Reynolds work as a bus driver prepared him well to handle both sides. He recalled one Saturday when a woman with a significant body odor boarded his bus. Passengers were complaining, some loudly. The woman was getting agitated. Then she peed in her seat.

Reynolds asked the woman to sit near him and kept telling her, Its OK. I got you and Im going to get you where you need to go.

He also made an airline announcement, something like, Please feel free to go ahead and drop the windows down. Please bear with us and well get to our destination as soon as possible.

Reynolds contacted his supervisor, who dispatched another bus to his location. Then while Reynolds passengers got on the new bus, full of fresh air, he chauffeured the woman off route to a homeless shelter downtown.

Most days, he wished he could do more to help people by offering something besides a ride, which is why he applied for his current job.

Its an opportunity to connect all the dots that Ive done in my life a counselor, a bus operator and a person concerned about others.

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RTD hires its first homeless outreach coordinator to visit stations, offer services to those illegally camped - The Colorado Sun