Happy National Co-Responder and Crisis Responder Week!

 From Katie Anderson, LICSW, QMHP, Vice President of Acute Services

This week “highlights the innovative collaboration between law enforcement and mental health professionals, transforming the way communities respond to individuals in crisis.”

Our Emergency Services and Mobile Crisis teams engage daily in co-response alongside police, fire, and EMS. Collectively, these staff are working tirelessly and around the clock to keep our clients and communities safe, provide on-demand and community-based access to care, and prevent or divert from unnecessary arrest or hospitalization.
Equally important to community-based crisis co-response are those programs who partner with behavioral health providers and first responders around the state, ensuring that those in crisis always have somewhere to go (BH Link, ASU) and someone to call (988).

And, on behalf of Acute Services, I’d also like to recognize and thank our staff across CCA who so often stand shoulder to shoulder to us in responding to those in crisis.

This timeless quote from the legendary Fred Rogers certainly applies to each of our crisis helpers:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”—Fred Rogers

Cheers to our crisis staff!