This Family Education Meeting will be online using Zoom. Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training staff Jessica Stuewe, Crisis Intervention Team Training Coordinator for Crisis Services of Erie County and Captain Amber M. Beyer, Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator for the Buffalo Police Department will present on:
– Crisis Services and Buffalo Behavioral Health Teams: Who are they and what are the benefits of their response to mental illness crisis calls?
– When should you call 911 for a mental health crisis and what can you expect?
– How do Crisis Intervention Teams provide linkages to services and divert people from going to the hospital or even jail?
There will be a question/answer period for discussion after the presentation.
To register to attend, email online@namibuffalony.org to request registration.
Once registered, we will send you the link to attend the meeting. There is no charge to attend the Family Education meeting. The meeting is open to adults who want to learn more about the topic, and about NAMI Buffalo & Erie County.
We look forward to having you join us.
More information is shown below about CIT.
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CIT Training Project
The Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) Project, housed within Crisis Services’ Police Mental Health Project, is aimed at developing CIT Teams in all police agencies in Erie County. CIT is specialized training for law enforcement for responding to individuals with mental illness. The training focuses on identification of mental illness and referral to appropriate resources in the community, particularly immediate linkage to programs within Crisis Services, such as the Mobile Outreach Program or the CIT-Crisis Case Management Program. Through the training, police agencies ideally create CIT Teams, teams of officers within each jurisdiction designated to respond to calls on individuals with mental illness. Nationally, CIT has been shown to be effective in responding to individuals with mental illness, focusing on improved care being provided to individuals with mental illness, and creating increased trust within the community. In addition, it has also been shown to be cost-effective for the community and law enforcement, reduce use of force by officers, reduce officer injury, and focuses on jail and hospital diversion, when appropriate, and encourages linkage to community services.
Since 2015, CIT Teams have developed in the following police departments:
Cheektowaga Police Department
Town of Evans Police Department
Town of Tonawanda Police Department
City of Tonawanda Police Department
University at Buffalo Police Department
Amherst Police Department
In addition, Lancaster Police Department, Orchard Park Police Department, West Seneca Police Department, the SPCA, Erie County Probation, Erie County Sheriff’s Department, NFTA, and ECMC Police all have trained CIT Officers, and will continue to develop their CIT Teams over time.
(Source: http://crisisservices.org/police-mental-health/)
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Additional information from NAMI about CIT can be found here.
