After a 10 per cent increase in mental health-related situations last year, Chatham-Kent Police Services are taking progressive steps of action.
Police hope to expand their HELP Team program in 2019. The team was established by the Chatham-Kent Police Service in 2001 with the aim to better serve residents dealing with mental illness and to improve the outcomes of interactions between them and the police.
The HELP Team consists of police officers and support staff who receive extensive training to deal with the mentally ill. Last year in Chatham-Kent there were 393 suicide threats or attempts and 691 Mental Health Act related incidents reported to police. In 2017 there were 358 suicide threats and 639 mental health-related incidents.
"I can't speak to other communities, all we can say is that over the 10 years, the numbers have gone up dramatically and they continue to rise every year," said HELP Team coordinator Sergeant Jim Lynds.
Currently, there are 40 sworn front line officers who have received special training to deal with people who have mental health issues. Training for HELP is a three-day course that offers information regarding various mental illnesses, community supports available and special skills that can be used in mental crisis situations.
"We've had a health team in Chatham-Kent serving mental health issues for over a decade where our frontline people have been trained on various aspects of mental health and how we can support some of those issues that arise in the community," explained Lynds.
Over the last decade, the HELP Team teamed up with the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance to create the HELP Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) where an officer partners up with a psychiatric nurse to respond to or follow up on mental health-related incidents. Both nurse and officer wear plain clothes and drive an unmarked vehicle. Lynds said that by not approaching the situation in a police cruiser, they are able to put the person involved at a little more ease.
"Mental illness is a health issue and we don't want to stigmatize or criminalize the behaviour. We want it dealt with through the health system and get the people they help they need," he said.
The MCT nurse is able to provide a psychiatric assessment to the individual and then tell the officers what kind of help the person needs and whether they should go to the hospital or not.
Lynds said before the creation of the MCT, two front line officers would be assigned to a mental health situation and automatically take the person to the hospital. Officers would then have to wait up to five hours in the hospital emergency room waiting for the person's assessment. He said the MCT has not only allowed for less of a drain on officer resources but also helps bring the person to a more appropriate spot, which may not always be the emergency room.
"Our goal has always been to bring the person to the right place at the right time for the right treatment. If that means they have to come to the hospital, we'll assist in that area. However, if it means that we can refer them to community supports to have them treated outside the hospital, that would be the goal," said Lynds.
In one of the newest initiatives, HELP launched the Vulnerable Person's Registry in 2016. The online database can be used to assist police in gathering information when an emergency situation arises for a Chatham-Kent resident who has a cognitive, physical or intellectual disability. Currently, there are around 110 people registered and Lynds said he encourages all caregivers to sign their loved one up in the free database is they believe they might be at risk.
"If they were to have an episode or crisis moment out in the community or are unable to communicate what their problem is, they have filled that information out ahead of time in an ongoing crisis moment. That way we can better address, usually health-related issues, in a much more timely fashion and get the person the help they need," said Lynds.
With mental health situations rising across the municipality, Lynds is hopeful the HELP Team will be able to increase as well. In 2019, he's aiming to get more staff trained in mental health awareness and to provide more officers with the tools they need in mental health situations, and overall, help more people within the community.