Endeavor Health Services’ Behavioral Health Team Counselor, Stefanie Metta, was recognized by The West Seneca Police Department and the community for all the hard work she and the Crisis Intervention trained officers have provided in response to mental health related police calls.
“Our counselor, Stefanie, has accompanied Crisis Intervention trained officers to over 300 calls involving requests for active mental health assistance since June 1st. With her help, we have successfully diverted 77% of the subjects of those calls away from unnecessary transport to ECMC’s psychiatric emergency program, or from becoming involved in the criminal justice system (this number for our Dept used to be around 50%). About 60% of these people were even able to remain in their homes after the encounter. These individuals in need were then provided with more appropriate resources and follow up for their specific needs. These diversions also resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars saved from unnecessary ambulance transports, treatment, and inpatient stays at our already overburdened and understaffed hospitals, particularly ECMC.
We’d like to take a moment to recognize Stefanie and these officers for their hard work over the past year in their quest to improve our response to these frequent and often difficult types of calls.”
(Quote and photo from the West Seneca Police Department)
What is our community saying?
“As the parent of a child who suffers from a mental health disorder, and a health professional myself, I commend you all. Unfortunately we have been involved in multiple calls to police for situations involving our son, due to his special needs, and it’s been a mixed bag as far as how law enforcement responds. Sometimes you can tell they are educated and trying to understand our very real, often daily struggles, and other times they have less understanding and compassion and tend to judge us as parents. It’s a very difficult thing for all involved, and I’m pleased to see that police departments are taking positive steps toward a better approach to these calls. Thank you!!”
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“This is such important work
unfortunately , especially in the climate we are living in today, these services are needed more than ever. Patients sit in emergency departments waiting to be seen for 12+ hours and when there is a mental health crisis, there isn’t that kind of time because often people change their mind in that time about accepting help. There’s a huge gap in the system and too often people fall through the cracks because families have no idea where to turn to or who can help. Thank you for your services!”
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“How fortunate are we to have such a wonderful police dept. The addition of this program and Stefanie is so needed and appreciated.”
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“As someone currently working in social work and my sister works at ECMC, I appreciate these efforts that are being made towards building compassion for those suffering with mental illness. They should not be criminalized, they should be getting care and support during these times of crisis. Thank you Stefanie
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“As a psychiatric social worker at ECMC, we appreciate you all! Thank you for your dedication to our community.”
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“I commend you all. I wish this had been in place several years ago but we made it through it and that’s all that matters! Thank you so much…mental health is so important and I have empathy for families dealing with multiple issues of this sort. Thank you Stephanie and our trained officer’s from the bottom of my heart
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“I could not applaud this more! This kind of comprehensive support is exactly what is needed. It is unrealistic to expect one human (a police officer) to work miracles and do it all. If we bring our expertise together look at those results. Besides this being the best results for people, the cost savings in emergency care speaks for itself as well!
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“Fantastic! As a parent of a special needs child I have always been concerned about unnecessary trips to ECMC psych. It holds parents back for asking for assistance when they just need an extra hand to de-escalate the situation. Hopefully other departments will follow your example!”
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“Having worked with both Sarah and Stefanie, I can tell you they are the best of the best. Great job.”
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“As the parent of a child who has required police intervention in the past for mental health crises, I cannot tell you how amazing this is. I moved out of West Seneca 2 years ago and wish I was still there. Your department should be a model for all police departments in the country. Your community involvement and trailblazing programs is so remarkable. Thank you!”
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“That’s so great to have this system in our town. So proud to be a part of this community.”
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January 12, 2022