Lincoln Police, CenterPointe partner to better serve people during mental health crisis

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Lincoln is partnering with CenterPointe to help better serve people in a mental health crisis by mental health professionals and police responding to calls together.

CenterPointe said it had 6,400 crisis intervention contacts with people this year – highlighting the need for the program.

Mental health professionals will provide their expertise and resources to those in crisis, while LPD officers maintain safety and security through the Co-Responder Program. This may help officers return to service more quickly, while mental health professionals continue working with a person in crisis.

“This program is another shining example of how the City of Lincoln and our community partners work together to get our residents the care they need, when they need it. Through innovations like the Co-Responder Program, we are advancing our goal of making Lincoln the safest and healthiest capital city in America,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said.

Three mental health professionals are being hired for the Co-Responder Program. The goal is to have them hired, trained, and working across the city by early next year.

“At the heart of it, our goal is really to meet people where they are,” Chief Michon Morrow, Lincoln Police Department said. “Provide them the support they need, whether that’s law enforcement intervention, mental health care or simply ensuring they have the basics needs to live with dignity.”

The initial three years of the program are funded by a $550,000 Bureau of Justice Assistance grant and $221,278 from Lincoln’s general fund.

Nearly 85% of those funds will pay co-responder salaries.  The majority of the remaining funds will be used to train co-responders, work from the Malone Center to collect community feedback, and for researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Psychology to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.