MANSFIELD — Chief Ronald Sellon is pleased to announce that the Mansfield Police Department has received a $250,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) to add a second mental health clinician to its co-response program.
The grant, awarded through DMH’s Jail and Arrest Diversion Initiative, will allow the Department to expand a program that pairs a licensed clinician with Mansfield Police officers when responding to calls involving people experiencing mental health or behavioral health crises.
The Department’s second clinician will provide additional coverage during evenings and times when call volume analysis identified a need, supporting the grant application.
Clinicians can respond with officers to calls involving mental health crises, suicidal thoughts, substance use and other behavioral health concerns. They can assess an individual at the scene, help de-escalate a situation and connect the individual or their family with treatment and other services.
When appropriate, the program also provides alternatives to arrests or emergency department visits for those whose contact with police is connected to a behavioral health crisis.
“Police officers are often called when someone is having one of the worst days of their life, but not every problem we encounter can be solved by the criminal justice system,” Chief Sellon said. “Having a clinician respond with our officers gives us another option. They can help us address the immediate situation and, just as importantly, connect that person and their family with help after we leave.”
Mansfield’s Co-Response Jail Diversion Program began in 2019. During the program’s first year, officers referred 165 people to the Department’s clinician.
In addition to responding to calls, the clinician conducts follow-up visits, provides short-term crisis counseling, coordinates with local service providers and helps train Mansfield Police officers to recognize signs of mental health crises, suicide risk, trauma and substance use.
Adding a second clinician will allow the Department to provide those services to more residents and increase the likelihood that a clinician can respond alongside officers when a call comes in.
The grant award also comes during Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. World Suicide Prevention Day was observed on Sept. 10.
Mansfield Police encourage residents to take any talk of suicide seriously and to check in with family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors who may be struggling.
Anyone experiencing a mental health or suicide crisis can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which is available 24 hours a day. Anyone facing an immediate threat to life or safety should call 911.
“This program has already made a difference in how we respond to people in crisis in Mansfield,” Chief Sellon said. “Adding a second clinician means we can have that resource available more often and help more people get connected with the services they need. We’re grateful to the Department of Mental Health for continuing to support this work.”
Chief Sellon also thanked the Department’s Problem-Oriented Policing Unit, the clinicians and officers who have helped build the program since its inception, staff who worked on the grant application and the community organizations that work with the Department to provide continued services to residents.
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