Starting this Saturday, Sheriff Rand Henderson has formed a CIT (Crisis Intervention Team). This Crisis Intervention Team is a community-based program that partners with law enforcement, mental health professionals, mental health advocates (people living with mental illness and their families), and other partners to improve community responses to mental health crises. This team is intended to build strong partnerships between law enforcement, mental health provider agencies, as well as individuals and families affected by mental illness.
As the primary 9-1-1 law enforcement agency in unincorporated areas of Montgomery County, Sheriff Henderson recognizes the importance of having an innovative team that will work as a force multiplier in our response to a person in a mental health crisis. This team will consist of a highly trained deputy with a mental health peace officer license who will be partnered with a Qualified Mental Health Professional employed by Tri-County. This team will respond to calls for service involving a person suffering a mental health crisis and, utilizing their combined skills, intend to de-escalate a situation and offer our citizens the best mental health interventions.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson, “I am grateful for the partnership with Tri-County and our holistic approach to responding and aiding those suffering a mental health crisis. This innovative team and its approach will provide strategies and interventions that are critical to addressing those suffering a mental health crisis. This collaborative approach will improve safety for everyone while effectively and timely providing mental health services for people in a mental health crisis.”
Tri-County Executive Director, Evan Roberson, “We know that all too often persons with mental illness end up in jails, emergency rooms, or other non therapeutic locations when they really need mental health treatment. This program with Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office provides an opportunity to impact more persons in a mental health crisis in Montgomery County.”