This grant would support expansion of the Crisis Intervention Team, which is located, on site at the Aurora Police Department (APD). This co-response team consists of APD officers and Family Service Association (FSA) staff to respond to mental health related calls to the APD.
The APD reports that approximately 40% – 60% of the calls received each year are mental health related. When an officer responds, they often must wait with the individual until a mental health specialist from FSA is able to respond. This program allows the officer and FSA staff to respond together to assess and support a person with a mental health emergency. FSA would then work to link the individual with appropriate long-term supports (i.e. AID, VNA, Mutual Ground, Aunt Martha’s).
Last year, the APD reported assigning follow-up officers for more than 550 people. This model allows for the APD officer to remain focused on his/her day-to-day duties and ensures a trained professional is able to continue treating the mental health issue.