Source: Broken Arrow Police Department
The Broken Arrow Police Department and Grand Mental Health have collaborated to form Broken Arrow’s first ever Crisis Response Team (CRT).
The Crisis Response Team pairs a Broken Arrow Police Officer with a Care Coordinator from Grand Mental Health. The two-member teams will ride together in a patrol vehicle daily to assist members of the community in crisis. Two separate teams will field calls for service during day shift and evening shift hours.
The CRT is designed to bring services to community members dealing with mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness and other crises. Additional call types include child(ren) in crisis, domestic disturbances with substance abuse and/or mental health components, panhandling and other similar calls.
“We are very excited about this partnership with Grand Mental Health,” said Major Stephen Garrett, Patrol. “This will allow better access for the citizens we serve when they experience a crisis. Additionally, we will have personnel ready to assist the Broken Arrow community that specialize in the areas of substance abuse, mental health, and a myriad of other issues.”
The goal of the CRT is to handle calls for service in a variety of these areas while freeing up patrol officers to handle other calls for service and self-initiated activity.”
In 2024 year-to-date, officers have responded to 186 such calls. Notably, since the launch of our Crisis Response Team in the past 30 days, the combined efforts of our officers and care coordinators have led to a proactive approach in addressing mental health crises, responding to 34 calls, conducted 48 follow-ups, and produced 10 reports. This data underscores our ongoing commitment to enhancing mental health support within our community through dedicated, specialized intervention.
The contract with Grand Mental Health for the care coordinators is funded by a recent Opioid Abatement Settlement. The settlement case resulted in our city receiving funds to address the opioid crisis.
“We are honored to partner with Broken Arrow PD in establishing the city’s first Crisis Response Team,” said GRAND Mental Health Chief Operating Officer, Josh Cantwell, MBA, LCSW, PRSS. “This collaboration centers on supporting law enforcement and providing trained behavioral health professionals to BA residents experiencing mental health and/or substance use crisis. Together, we can get the right help to those in need, while allowing officers to quickly return to protecting and serving the community.”
One officer and care coordinator have been fielding calls for several weeks. The team has already assisted many individuals on calls undergoing a crisis. The second officer and care coordinator began this Monday.
988 is Oklahoma’s 24/hour suicide and crisis lifeline that can connect you with trained behavioral health professionals to seek help.
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