The Westbrook Police Department will use grant funding to launch a new community policing coordinator, the first such program in the city dedicated to civilian outreach.

The coordinator will establish a presence in Westbrook’s Brown Street neighborhood – a source of a large number of calls to the police – and will work with civilians to assist police investigations, but also line up city resources for residents and families.

Westbrook Police Chief Janine Roberts, who is familiar with similar programs during her time in Portland, said Monday that since arriving in Westbrook and familiarizing herself with neighborhoods, she saw the Brown Street area as a needed recepient of the city’s first program.

Last week, the Westbrook City Council accepted a donation of $15,000 from the Cornelia Warren Community Foundation toward the community policing program, which will help pay for renting a physical location on Brown Street for a program base.

The program itself, in hiring the coordinator at just under $40,000, is funded by a Community Development Block Grant.

Roberts said the department receives a heavy number of calls from the Brown Street neighborhood dealing with domestic violence and drug issues.

“With the addiction problem as well as child protection cases, it was identified as a spot to initiate the program,” she said.

The program is designed for the coordinator to act as a liason between civilians and police, connecting residents with resources to help with addiction, mental health or even food.

“There are tons of resources there, but many community members don’t know how to access them,” she said, adding that the coordinator will be familiar with and connected to the city’s resources.

Roberts said she even discussed the program with Brown Street business owner Alfred Jacob, owner of AJ’s Market.

“He was familiar with Portland’s community policing program, and I was able to find the funding for this year,” she said.

Jacob said Tuesday that he was familiar with the program from growing up in Portland’s Kennedy Park neighborhood.

“Brown Street is sort of a mirror of what Kennedy Park used to be,” he said, stating that he’d like to do more to help his customers, who are often facing a number of challenges. He added that there are a large number of children in the neighborhood as well, which he called “vulnerable.”

“I wish I could help more, which is what kind of provoked the idea,” he said. “The program will help address some of those challenges that we have as a community on Brown Street.”

Roberts said the most important goal of the program is establishing better communication with those who live in the neighborhood. Brown Street runs between Cumberland and Bridge streets on the northern side of the Presumpscot River.

“To establish an opportunity to communicate, which becomes a better relationship more often than not, that is the broader goal,” she said about the program. Roberts said that while they don’t expect to halt all crime in the neighborhood, they would like residents to have more trust with their police force.

The department has been fielding candidates for the job, but Roberts said they are close to hiring. The coordinator would be hired by the first of August, she said, and after training, possibly on Brown Street by mid-August. She said the likely candidate for the job is a Westbrook resident.

Roberts said another example of the coordinator’s work will be establishing relationships and trust with neighbors. She said that if there are problem properties, where police are often called, the coordinator can speak with the landlord and inform them about what’s been taking place at the property.

Allen Moore, the owner of Skybox Bar & Grill, and a neighborhood resident, said he supports the program. Moore said he attended a recent neighborhood meeting about a nearby problem property.

?“?Anything that will have a positive impact on the neighborhood is a worthwhile endeavor,” he said Wednesday. “I give my support as a business owner and as resident of the neighborhood.”

“Working with the landlords and suggest to them some basic background check processes when screening for tenants,” she said. Roberts added that with the recent building code violations in the city, the coordinator can work with code enforcement on code issues as well.

Jacob said one example that has stuck with him was a woman struggling to find a two-bedroom apartment for herself and two children.

“What can I do as a business owner to help her out? Not really much,” he said. “If there’s someone here who can help her navigate the resources available as a single mother, it would be better.”

Roberts said she will be hosting a community meeting in the neighborhood once the job offer is made.