County partnering with Vaya Health
.
Murphy – In the near future, a 911 call in Cherokee County may result in a behavioral health specialist responding and not a deputy.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Vaya Health and Appalachian Community Services are partnering up to provide mental health services thanks to a $1.1 million grant, which is being split between Cherokee and Clay counties.
Vaya Health will provide licensed and certified mental health clinicians to respond to 911 calls that involve people having mental health situations.
Sheriff’s Capt. David Williams said the county provides firefighters to respond to fires and accidents, emergency medical technicians for people who are sick or injured, but everything else gets sent to the sheriff’s office.
That includes a child who doesn’t want to go to school or people who are having mental health crises but who have not committed crimes, he said. Those individuals often wind up getting arrested or sent to the emergency room, where the services they really need are less invasive and not previously available.
Other counties where similar programs have been developed have seen 86% of cases like that are kept out of the ER or jail. About 60% of those cases are linked up with behavioral health services within the first year and 97% don’t wind up in jail, Williams he said.
Jails have become mental health facilities in North Carolina, he said. This program will provide these individuals the help they need and keep them out of handcuffs.
It will instill public trust that Cherokee County has “compassionate and progressive law enforcement,” Williams said. It frees law enforcement officers up to respond to crimes and also helps build stronger relationships between agencies in the county.
The program will provide the county with two crisis counselors and the equipment they need.
The “co-responder pilot program” is a statewide initiative, with Vaya Health providing services for the wester quarter of the state, including Cherokee County. The counselors will be on duty Monday through Friday, with one on duty from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the other from 2-10 p.m.
The county’s 911 operators and law enforcement will be trained to know which calls are appropriate for the co-responder program. In some cases, a deputy may request a response, although that scenario is seen as inefficient.
There will be cases where a 911 operator can discern that a co-responder is needed and make that call. In some cases a behavioral health specialist may be dispatched alone, such as for welfare checks.
Pilot programs exist with polices departments in Burlington and Roxboro, and sheriff’s offices in
Buncombe and Person counties.
Locally, the grant will pay for two crisis counselors each in Cherokee and Clay counties, with one program manager to oversee the program. Benefits of the program include reduced costs, improved community relations, and decreased repeat encounters with the criminal justice system.
“Individuals who are connected to treatment are less likely to engage in unlawful or disruptive behaviors, reducing repeated contacts with law enforcement and the criminal justice system at large,” according to a report submitted to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners.