LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) -Debuting back in March after three years of planning, the co-responder program is a partnership between CenterPointe and the Lincoln Police Department where mental health professionals respond to calls with officers.
In just four months, those co-responders have been on scene for 153.
“People often times are really receptive to that,” Amber Dirks, the program manager and Vice President of Community Response at CenterPointe, said. “Seeing someone show up who is in that co-responder t-shirt and isn’t directly law enforcement can be a little bit more calming for somebody, versus seeing that law enforcement officer.”
Of those 153 calls, 62% have been deescalated enough to leave the individual on site. 24% have resulted in the individual experiencing a crisis being transported to an agency or facility that can better meet their immediate needs—78% of those being voluntary.
In the world of behavioral health crisis response, that is a more than 80% success rate.
“It’s not providing therapy.” Dirks said. “It’s more of a brief crisis intervention, crisis stabilization, deescalating people, providing coping skills, connecting them to resources, and trying to get them to a safe place.”
The extra hands not only bring more resources to each scene, but allowed officers to leave them sooner and get back out on the streets. On average, according to Dirks, from the time the co-responder arrives on scene they stay there for five minutes longer than the officer.
“It’s been a really good working relationship,” she said. “We’re seeing as calls continue to increase, they’re asking for our feedback, asking how we might handle the situation.”
Dirks added that they are currently training a third mental health professional to become a full-time co-responder.
The program has also expanded its services past the LPD partnership, now assisting Lincoln Fire and Rescue with calls.
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