09/10/2026
CENTRALIA ROTARY CLUB HAS PROGRAM ON TASC program
President-Elect Galen Mahle opened the Aug. 12 Centralia Rotary Club meeting by introducing the guest speakers Centralia Police Chief Chris Locke and Jenny Provo, Deflection Supervisor of the Treatment Alternatives for Stronger Communities (TASC).
TASC is headquartered in Chicago but Jenny has her office in Marion. TASC currently covers 52 of Illinois’ 102 counties and is working to expand to cover all 102 counties within the next five years. Her team covers 16 counties in Southern Illinois and has been active for the past 4½ years. Chief Locke gave a short history of how the Police Department is often called upon to intervene with complicated situations of the omeless, mental health issues and substance abuse without having all of the tools, time or available resources to solve the situations. He explained that the police can move them along or make arrests, but that does not resolve the underlying issues. Chief Locke became aware of TASC from a colleague and reached out to Jenny Provo in a search for long-term solutions for those in need which led to their first organizational meeting on November 25, 2025.
They discussed the partnership between the police department and TASC, set up some guidelines and protocols within the police department to get information to TASC about those individuals or groups in need. The November 5th meeting was the formation of the partnership. There have been two additional community meetings since November 5th bringing in additional community service organizations looking at it from a community perspective instead of just the police department trying to address it. The police department is a crucial part of the organizational structure because they are primarily the office which receives the initial calls about these health problems. There have been several successes since the program was initiated in Centralia.
Jenny Provo explained the deflection process is trying to deflect individuals in the opposite direction of where they're going and to break down those barriers to get at building that mutual trust. It is a method to interact with individuals in need to promote healing, hope and increased linkages to services for those in need and help remove barriers to accessing resources such as obtaining identification like a birth certificate, Social Security Card or State ID. The deflection initiatives employed by the TASC specialists represent improved collaboration among community-based resources, police and TASC. These linkages include treatments for substance abuse, mental health treatment and recovery resources, housing services, support services like food clothing and employment opportunities. Law enforcement officers receive training on when to refer an individual in need to a Deflection Team. The Deflection Specialist engages to put the individual on a path to healing and success, listens to the individual, partners to identify their needs with help to achieve the goals, advocating their best interests, provides support along the healing path and provides educational resources. The TASC continues this partnership with the courts, healthcare, law enforcement and families to ensure success of the client.
The TASC services are open to anyone in Illinois who is 18 years old or older regardless of income, insurance status or involvement with the justice system. Referrals can come not only from law enforcement, but also from families, courts, healthcare organizations or community partners. More information is available on the TASC website: www.tasc.org.
