Police & Mental Health Partnership
Working with the Police Department and Mental Health Professionals to
explore options to collaboratively support our community.
explore options to collaboratively support our community.
Police & Mental Health Partnership Explained:
We know our Police Department cares deeply about our citizens. We know they do all they can to keep us safe and are grateful for all they do. We also realize that we're putting a huge pressure on them to protect and serve AND address mental health care needs that are often-times at the root of the pleas for help they respond to. We want to provide support for our officers and for our community members by exploring how to develop a collaborative partnership between Mental Health professionals and the police force. Why it's important:
As we plan for a comprehensive, systemic shift in Springfield and work to become more proactive, we see a very real need to respond in the moment to de-escalate crises and work as quickly as possible to get people connected to the supports they need. In our work with families in need, we've spoken with several police officers eager to help who spent extra time doing the best they could to help families in need connect with community supports. For a police force that's already stretched thin, we can do more to support our officers and our community members. Several communities have begun partnering police officers with mental health professionals successfully. Let's chose a proactive, long-term, supportive system. One that will allow the needs of our community to be met and naturally reduce violence. |
Our Why