City launches team to join police on mental health calls

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Mayor Linda Gorton today joined the Lexington Police and Fire Departments to officially launch the city's Community Crisis Co-Response Team. The team will assist the Police Department with mental health-related calls.

"This program will greatly help our first responders respond to mental health emergencies," Mayor Linda Gorton said. "With a mental health professional involved, we can provide a more focused approach to the person in crisis."

Earlier this year, Governor Andy Beshear announced that the city received an $850,000 federal grant from the Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services to establish a crisis response team. The application for the three-year grant was the collaborative effort of both the Lexington Police and Fire Departments.

The grant allows the city to hire a full-time mental health professional to respond directly to mental health calls, in conjunction with the Lexington Police Department. In addition, the grant will provide overtime funding for police officers who have taken specialized training in responding to mental health emergencies, which currently includes approximately 45 officers.

Lexington Fire Community Paramedicine recently hired Chris Perrine, who has master's in clinical mental health counseling, to work alongside the Police Department in responding to mental health related calls.

Fire Chief Jason Wells said, "With this grant, Lexington Fire and Police Departments will be better equipped to respond to mental health crises with compassion and strength. It's a decisive step in our city's evolution of what a first responder does. Meeting our residents where they are, just like we did with Community Paramedicine. These crisis response teams will bring a new and greater level of care to Fayette County."

Assistant Police Chief Brian Maynard said, "Having the Crisis Response Team responding to calls with officers will allow crucial mental health resources to be provided to individuals in need more quickly, and hopefully, help provide the individuals with a path out of crisis."

"The Crisis Response Team will be able to respond with the appropriate resources for individuals experiencing a crisis," said Fire Captain Seth Lockard, who oversees the Community Paramedicine Program. "This response is going to change the current model, and provide the most appropriate response from public safety."

The Crisis Response Team is slated to work weekdays, when most mental health calls occur, Lockard said. The city receives approximately 3,000 mental health calls a year, with fewer calls coming in at night, or on weekends.

Creating the Crisis Response Team has been a joint effort of several government departments. The Department of Housing Advocacy and Community Development and the Department of Social Services have worked closely with the Department of Public Safety to establish the service.

The Crisis Response Teams falls in line with a recommendation from the 2020 Mayor's Commission for Racial Justice & Equality, which included a goal to "direct calls pertaining to individuals with Mental, Health, Addiction, and Homelessness issues to appropriate services and to avoid incarcerations and hospitalization."

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