Community improvement drives staff member

Robin Schawe never thought she’d spend her days riding shotgun in an El Paso County Sheriff’s Office SUV.

But that’s exactly where the former school counselor and crisis walk-in behavioral health specialist found herself when a call about a suicidal man with a gun came into 911 dispatchers earlier this year.

“It’s what I do,” said Schawe, a UCHealth behavioral health specialist.  “My job is to get community members the help they need without anyone getting either arrested or hurt.”

As sheriff’s deputies ran toward a man in his 20s who was sitting on a roof with a loaded handgun, threatening to kill himself, Schawe lagged behind. She stood behind a fence, out of harm’s way but close enough to use her most powerful tool: a calm, steady voice backed by years of training and grounded in deep religious faith.

Sheriff’s deputies made contact with the man by cell phone, and then handed the phone to Schawe. She began asking questions, simple at first like the man’s name and, later, more complicated such as what would happen to his young son if he killed himself. She assured him he would get help, not punishment, and that she was a mental health professional, not law enforcement. Eventually, the man surrendered and was taken to a local in-patient mental health facility. Schawe kept her promise and prevented a tragedy, the effects of which could have lasted generations.

“This certainly wasn’t my first experience with suicide,” Schawe said. “But it was my first experience of a suicide in the moment. Unfortunately, it happens every day. It’s a very different environment.”

In recognition of her efforts, Schawe received a Coin of Excellence from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office before the beginning of a July shift. Law enforcement, firefighters and armed forces members have a long-standing tradition of exchanging coins as a way of symbolizing unit identity.

Schawe is part of a five-year-old pilot program known as “BHCON” or Behavior Health Connect Unit. A partnership between UCHealth and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, BHCON pairs law enforcement with behavioral health experts for a coordinated response to emergency calls.  Schawe responds in tandem with a sheriff’s deputy when mental health issues are suspected. Often, calls are to check the welfare of someone whose family members believe might be abusing drugs or alcohol or who has a history of mental health problems. Schawe praised local sheriff’s deputies for learning about mental health and developing new skills to defuse situations, calling her partner, El Paso County Sheriff’s Deputy Carrie Stevenson, “a true professional.”

“We’re partners, a team,” Schawe said. “Sometimes, though, the biggest advantage I have isn’t my mental health training or experience.  It’s that I’m not wearing a badge. We both want to do better for our community. If I can get people the help they need, the sheriff’s office can focus on crimes.”