C.O. police, professionals partner to address mental health

Deschutes County has seen an uptick in mental health crises. Between 2012 and 2017, the county’s population grew by about 25,000 people

It’s estimated that one in five adults in the U.S., or 43.8 million people, experience mental illness in a given year.

And Deschutes County is no exception, said Janice Garceau, behavioral health deputy director at Deschutes County Health Services.

“So as the county grows, that population of individuals is going to grow accordingly, and we’re certainly experiencing some increase in demand and some increase in crises contacts as well,” Garceau said.

It’s a matter that requires a multifaceted response — much of which comes from the Bend Police Department. Sgt. Elizabeth Lawrence is in charge of the Behavioral Health Unit for the agency.

“The Bend Police Department has realized for a while this is an issue that needs to be addressed in the community, so that we’re providing services to everyone — and also for officer safety, so officers are aware of what can happen when people go into crises,” Lawrence said.

Bend police officers undergo 40 hours of mental health crisis training. The department also has an embedded social worker who responds to mental health calls along with officers.

“We’ve done a lot of work with law enforcement to help them better recognize and distinguish between, ‘I’m just breaking a law’ and ‘I’m really struggling with something that’s going on internally, in terms of mood and my thoughts,’ and acting in some unpredictable ways as a result of that,” Garceau said.

In Deschutes County, between 2017 and 2018, there was a 48 percent increase in law enforcement calls to the mobile crisis assessment team.

“People are living in closer proximity, population increases, and so you may have individuals coming into contact with their neighbors and with the community more frequently than they might in a more rural setting,” Garceau said.

Police say they can actually see firsthand on calls the individual benefits from their crisis training and work with mental health professionals.

“It’s deescalation — how officers approach people, positioning, being able to be empathetic, being able to listen, giving the time for someone to tell you how they’re feeling, what they’re going through and listening to what their issues are and and trying to get them some type of assistance to help them with what they’re going through,” Lawrence said.

A major goal of both police and Deschutes County Health Services is to avoid taking individuals in crises to the emergency room, and instead to get them where and what they need to recover.

If you or someone you know or see is going through a mental health crises, you should contact police or Deschutes County Behavioral Health Services.

You can get information about behavioral health services at this website: https://www.deschutes.org/health

And you can contact the non-emergency Deschutes County dispatch line at (541) 693-6911