Endeavor Health Services and several of our partners from the Cheektowaga Police Department, Buffalo Police Department, and Town of Tonawanda Police Department recently visited Houston’s Police Department Crisis Intervention Team to learn about their co-response model, which they have successfully opened since 2008.
Crisis Intervention Teams or Co-Responder Models involve law enforcement and clinicians working together in response to calls for service involving a person experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The Houston Police Department have developed a robust continuum of care that includes programs such as diversion with a legal advocacy component, homeless outreach, care coordination, mobile outreach for calls that do not involve a crime or risk of danger, emergency housing, and 911 call triage.
“Their system and the process they used to continually develop and grow the interrelated components based on their community’s needs are impressive and relevant to the continuum of care being worked on in Western New York. It was wonderful to learn from them while building relationships with these amazing trailblazers.” — Elizabeth L. Mauro, LCSW-R, Chief Executive Officer of Endeavor Health Services.
Endeavor Health Services’ Behavioral Health Team is already made up of many of the key components the Houston Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team has, along with a few areas that are still being developed. Endeavor looks to continually educate its community and key stakeholders; build alignment, trust, and mutual respect between different systems; and collaborate with other organizations to best serve the needs of its community.
Our goals moving forward include to expand coverage hours; utilize technology more; further develop diversion components in the continuum of care particularly those that relate to stabilization and respite centers; expand housing, legal advocacy, peer led mobile outreach; and streamlining our 911 system. We also intend to expand Crisis Intervention Team training and develop advanced components of this training for those working in the co-response field.
Endeavor’s BHT Co-Response teams work in collaboration with our local police departments to provide crisis de-escalation, higher level of care intervention, post-crisis follow up and linkages to care.
Our Co-Response teams serve community members in crisis that may be at an elevated risk of harm to themselves or others. By embedding clinicians within the police department our team can provide on-scene screening, assessment, de-escalation, and diversion for people in need of mental health or substance use treatment services.
The goal of this program is to prevent arrests, reduce recidivism, divert from hospitalization, and help develop crisis response plans for high utilizer community members. In addition we strive to ensure individuals have access to care and services that address their social determinants of health.
Police Departments Endeavor partners with:
Cheektowaga Police Department
3223 Union Rd., Cheektowaga, NY 14227
(716) 686-3500
Buffalo Police Department
68 Court St., Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 851-4444
Town of Tonawanda Police Department
1835 Sheridan Dr., Buffalo, NY 14223
(716) 876-5300
West Seneca Police Department
1250 Union Rd., West Seneca, NY 14224
(716) 674-2280
Transit Authority Police Department
1404 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 855-7660
Serving the community of Western New York since 1972, Endeavor Health Services is a private, not for profit, behavioral health organization that serves individuals challenged by mental health and substance use issues and is one of 13 Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) in New York State. For referrals or appointments, contact Central Intake at (716) 895-6701.
January 12, 2022