So many of us feel safe in Hamilton County, right? Why is that? On March 13, the HCLA Class of 2025 was determined to find out! We started the day at City Hall in Noblesville. We discussed Public Safety efforts around Hamilton County and more about how the county has done so well to make people in the community feel safe.
Mayor Spotlight with Chris Jensen
Mayor Jensen woke everyone up with his bubbly personality and sense of humor. I was surprised to learn that about 50% of Noblesville’s budget is dedicated to public safety efforts. Mayor Jenson mentioned that there has been an increase and shift in the types of police runs they are seeing in Noblesville. When asked more about it, he mentioned that we are seeing an increase in calls related to mental health. This was an excellent segway into the next speaker, who talked with the class about the NobleAct Program.
NobleAct with Sgt. Ben Lugar and Luna
The NobleAct program started in 2020. Per the City of Noblesville website, NobleAct is “a proactive and sustainable mental health collaboration to strengthen community-based responses through a partnership with the police and fire departments and area service providers.” Sgt. Lugar shared that there were 800 calls last year to the NobleAct program. NobleAct is able to help with services such as:
- Ride to a shelter, treatment center, family, hospital, etc.
- Emergency ration of non-perishable food
- Blankets, sleeping bags, jackets, hygiene equipment
- Assessment and referral to mental health, addiction, or housing options
- Referral to outside community resources.
Sgt. Lugar introduced Luna, the first therapy dog of seventeen in the state of Indiana. It’s obvious that Luna is extremely good at her job! The class enjoyed her “snuggle” command demonstration very much.
Safety in Schools with Sgt. Jason Shonkwiler
Sgt. Shonkwiler is a School Resource Officer (SRO) at Noblesville High School. He works daily to build relationships with students and staff. It is the hope that someday, the community will be able to have one SRO for every 1000 students. Noblesville has one SRO in every school at this time. Sgt. Shonkwiler shared some of the struggles with students vaping in schools and having access to social media. Many of us were concerned with how often students are vaping (in and out of school). It was comforting to know that there are vape detectors in the bathrooms of Noblesville High School and Sgt. Shonkwiler is able to see when the detectors are set off at any time.
Later in the day, the class of 2025 toured the Noblesville Fire Department, Hamilton County Jail, Hamilton County Emergency Management, and the 911 call center. We were very busy and filled with incredible information all afternoon!
Moving forward, we should all continue to be fierce advocates in order to maintain a safe community. I speak for our entire class when I say THANK YOU to everyone who serves as a public safety officer, advocate, politician, and more. Your passion for creating and maintaining safe environments for all is inspiring.