The AAA-ICDR Foundation Board awarded a $250,000 Special Initiative Grant to expand Dayton Ohio’s Mediation Response Unit (MRU), building on the $150,000 2022 Annual Cycle Grant the Foundation provided for the creation of the MRU.

The MRU was formulated through police reform initiatives after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. The MRU is an alternative emergency response program that dispatches trained mediators to respond to lower emergent 911/police calls for the City of Dayton. Since May 23, 2022, the MRU has responded to 1,500 calls for service in the Dayton community. The call type most responded to has been disputes between neighbors, followed by complaints about disorderly persons. The goals of the program are to publicize the MRU and expand its use—in Dayton and through similar programs in other communities, especially to benefit marginalized populations including at-risk youth, group home residents, and students with disciplinary issues. In the future, the MRU also plans to work with researchers to gauge the impact of these efforts. The new grant supports the expansion of the program by providing more hours to meet community need over weekends, professional evaluation of the MRU program, creation of an implementation guide plus improved data management capabilities, marketing and social service referrals.