El Paso County Sheriff’s Office adds to behavioral health unit
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office expects to add a second deputy and a clinician from the University of Colorado Health system.
The team is aimed at diverting people away from the criminal justice system if they're experiencing mental health-related issues, and instead getting them the help they need.
The second team is expected to hit the streets by mid-February, responding alongside the existing two-person team.
Jackie Kirby, a spokesperson with the sheriff's office, says a case manager will also join the unit to help with follow-up calls and connect callers with available services.
She said with 2,100 square miles to cover, getting people who live in remote areas of the county to Colorado Springs for services has proven to be difficult.
Between July 1 and Sept. 30, deputies made only one arrest resulting in new charges when responding to 153 calls relating to mental health, Kirby said.
The sheriff's office says adding members to the team will assist with more than 200 calls related to mental health received each month. The first unit can only respond to an average of 50 to 60 monthly calls.
The Behavioral Health Connect Unit has been up and running for nearly a year and half thanks to a grant from the Colorado Department of Human Services.
