PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Pierce County deputies will soon have some new allies to help them answer emergencies.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is planning to enhance a co-responders program that brings in mental health professionals to help respond to those experiencing a mental health crisis.
Chantel Quintero helps oversee the program as a supervisor and said that it helps fill in the gaps in law enforcement by bringing in professionals that have vital skills deputies currently lack.
“They’re all master clinicians, they’re all mental health professionals,” Quintero said. “This is what they’ve trained to do, they have experience and education behind them and they know how to respond to calls.”
Quintero said the sheriff's department is now working on putting together an alternative response team to provide support without directly bringing in law enforcement.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said this extension is slated to begin this spring and will also be expanded to be in effect 24 hours a day.
Lovey Offerle of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Pierce County said this could ease the fears of people who are looking for help but are unsure of who to call.
“We’ve told them to call 911, but they’re a little bit hesitant because they’re afraid,” Offerle said. “They hear what’s going on in the country and that colors their view a little bit so they’re hesitant to call.”
But Offerle said that this approach could go a long way in making those suffering a mental health crisis feel safer.
“It’s a saving grace there’s someone who understands what your loved ones are going through, what I’m going through if I happen to be that individual,” Quintero said. “I’m in safe hands as a result of that.”