Police Dept. Grant to Fund Crisis Intervention Team

On February 6th, the Department of Mental Health (DMH) hosted a legislative breakfast at the State House for over 50 northeast area communities.

The breakfast was an opportunity to highlight the partnerships between DMH, mental health providers, persons served, northeast communities and legislators.

DMH asked Riverside Community Care, Eliot Community Human Services and the Wakefield Police Department to present a poster at the event entitled: “Creating Community Connections: a Model for Collaboration between Mental Health Providers and Police Collaboration.”

This model has led to a stakeholder group of mental health providers, the police department, and community leaders that meets regularly in Wakefield. The town of Wakefield was able to secure a grant to create a Crisis Intervention Team within the Police Department which 25 percent of the department’s officers received intensive mental health training and respond to incidents involving mental health.

Additionally, this grant has allowed the Police Department to hire a dedicated clinician to work alongside officers to assist in providing interventions to people with mental health issues. Legislators and attendees of the breakfast were impressed with the Wakefield model and collaboration developed by the police department.