Behavioral health experts from UCHealth are part of co-responder teams throughout Colorado, bringing behavioral health resources to communities.
Co-responder programs aim to help people who are having a mental health crisis receive the help they need while in crisis and to receive resources to address mental health issues.
UCHealth’s partners in co-responder programs include:
- Fort Collins
- Aurora
- El Paso County
- Fountain
- Manitou Springs
- Colorado State University
Typically, a police officer or sheriff’s deputy pairs with a mental health professional to answer 911 calls placed when a person is in crisis. Co-responder programs help to reduce arrests, improve outcomes for people in need and reduce repeat visits to emergency departments.
UCHealth first launched partnerships with Fort Collins Police Services and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in 2018.
Cory Kiper, a police officer with Fort Collins Police Services, works closely with Lindsay De Luna, a licensed clinical social worker at UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins.
“We will have calls every day, and someone says: ‘My loved one is in crisis, and I don’t want someone in a marked patrol car, I want the mental health response team,’’’ Kiper said.
“So, people are aware, they want this resource,’’ said De Luna.
“They feel that calling is going to be helpful. So, when it comes down to it, we’re trying to improve lives,’’ Kiper said. “We are working on taking someone who is in a high state of crisis and bringing that person down, deescalating that person, resourcing that person and giving them everything that we can.’’
Kiper said that preserving a person’s dignity while experiencing a crisis is an important goal of the co-responder program.
“It’s really about getting people to the right level of care and the right level of support that they need. Without this partnership, they could end up being taken to the emergency room repeatedly, without actually getting to the core of the problem and getting the support that they need,’’ De Luna said.
Clinicians are either independently licensed professional counselors or licensed clinical social workers, which means each has a master’s degree, has 3,000 supervised clinical hours and has passed a state competency test.