Mentally ill have 31 new advocates after police training in Crisis Intervention

"Why should veterans be treated differently than any one else?" I get that question a lot. The answer is, they are different than anyone else. Less than 10% of the population can call themselves Veteran and less that 1% serve today in the military. Think that makes them very different from the rest of us just with that, but top off the fact these men and women survived a year at a time in combat. We can understand civilians with PTSD after a tornado, car accident, crime or sudden death of someone they loved, but we can't seem to manage to understand a combat veteran coming home with PTSD because their traumatic events aren't counted on one or two fingers, but many need a calculator.

There are Veterans' Courts opening up across the country to treat them because they are different than the rest of the population. While many think this is a rare thing, even the Law Enforcement officials recognize confronting people with Mental Illness is confronting someone in crisis. Between 2008 and 2010 there were several of these trainings I attended and I can tell you first hand, it makes a huge difference in how you look at people and how you are able to judge someone needs help.

Police training makes a difference in crisis
by Lori Caldwell lcaldwell@post-trib.com
June 11, 2011

“I don’t believe in jail for the mentally ill, but the resources aren’t there. They need an advocate. I’m glad for this program, it works.” Judge Pro Tem Itsia Rivera

GARY — The mentally ill have 31 new advocates.

Last-week’s graduates of the Police Department’s five-day Crisis Intervention Team program learned diagnostic, communication and response skills that go far beyond handcuffs and jail cells.

“You are joining the rank of a very specialized team,” Danita Johnson-Hughes, president of Edgewater Systems for Balanced Living, told the group Friday afternoon. She and other speakers at the graduation ceremony, including Mayor Rudy Clay, thanked the officers for participating in the program.

Since 2003, the Gary Police Department, with Methodist Hospitals, Edgewater Systems for Balanced Living and the National Alliance on Mental Illness have been training officers in ways to quickly evaluate and assist mentally ill people.

“Take what you’ve learned and utilize it,” Chief Gary O. Carter said at the closing ceremony. “It’s self-rewarding.”

Police from Gary, Indiana University Northwest, Schererville and Hammond attended the class along with Gary Community School Corp. supervisory aides and Davis Security employees.
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Police training makes a difference in crisis