ALTON — Centerstone, a national leader in behavioral healthcare, was awarded a grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services, providing a counselor to work with the Alton Police Department in response to mental health-related calls.
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The counselor position collaborates with the Alton PD to help connect individuals in the community to local resources. Regina Plummer, EDA counselor with Centerstone, says, “It has been an honor to work alongside the Alton Police Department, on behalf of Centerstone, in this co-responder capacity. There has been top-down support from APD since day one, which has helped to make this program successful.”
”Working with Centerstone to start the Community Response Team program from the ground up has been a blessing. I’m proud of Centerstone and the Alton Police Department for joining forces and leading the way in serving the community,” says Jarrett M. Ford, with the Alton Police Department.
In many situations where police encounter an individual with mental health issues, the police officer will often take the person to an emergency room. At that point, the emergency room staff will call in a mental health crisis assessor to help connect the individual with mental health resources. By providing a counselor to work alongside the police, the individual will have a quicker response time in getting the help they need.
“Our partnership has allowed us to collaborate on how we can best respond to meet the needs of our community, and often working together leads to better outcomes for those we serve,” says Brittany Pinnon-Becker, clinical manager at Centerstone.
Centerstone works extensively with the Alton PD on various mental health and crisis issues in the community. The Alton police continue to make numerous referrals to Centerstone to assist linking individuals with resources and mental health treatment.
For more information about Centerstone visit centerstone.org/connect-with-us or call 1-877- HOPE123 (1-877-467-3123) to get help today.
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