NEOMED Leader Quoted on Law Enforcement’s Role in Mental Health Calls
July 22, 2020
Radio station WKSU in Kent, Ohio, recently reported on ways that police officers and mental health professionals are collaborating on ways to respond to calls when mental health is a consideration.
Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) service is one strategy, and it has roots at Northeast Ohio Medical University. CIT programs help officers learn to de-escalate crises and help people with mental illness get treatment instead of being inappropriately incarcerated.
Ruth Simera, M.Ed., LSW, executive director of the Coordinating Centers of Excellence in the Psychiatry Department at NEOMED, told WKSU that having more social workers trained for these CIT teams could help.
She said, “In some communities, the co-responder model might have a law enforcement officer partnered with a mental health professional. In some communities, it might be mental health professionals and a peer. So, someone who has lived experience and has now been trained to respond to other peers in the community.”