In 2017, the City of Tulsa took a significant step towards addressing mental health crises by creating the Community Response Team (CRT). At that time, Tulsa was inundated with 13,000 mental health-related calls annually, many of which were repeat calls and not emergencies.
“What we realized was that Tulsa specifically is fifth in the nation with the highest rate of individuals who suffer from some serious mental illness,” said Capt. Shellie Seibert, Mental Health Coordinator for the Tulsa Police Department (TPD), on a recent OK State of Mind podcast.
“Research shows that only about 15 percent of those individuals are receiving some kind of treatment. Through our partnerships and our work together, we realized that a lot of those calls of individuals that were suffering from a mental illness were going to 911.”
This process was far from ideal. Previously, police officers spent hours in emergency rooms with individuals in crisis. Due to a shortage of beds, they often had to transport people up to three hours away across Oklahoma. This placed significant strain on both the police department and the individuals in crisis. Consequently, city officials began exploring better ways to support those in need.
The CRT, consisting of a Tulsa Police officer, a Tulsa Fire Department (TFD) paramedic, and a Family & Children’s Services (FCS) clinician, responds to 911 calls involving individuals in mental health crises. They first assess emergent needs and then provide follow-up mental health assistance. For non-emergency calls, Tulsans can call 988 or COPES at (918) 744-4800. COPES (Community Outreach Psychiatric Emergency Services), under the leadership of COPES Vice President Amanda Bradley, offers a free and confidential 24/7 telephone crisis line and mobile crisis service, providing emotional support to children and adults experiencing suicidal crises or emotional distress.
Their efforts are being highlighted during National Co-Responder and Crisis Responder Week, held from September 15-21. This annual event, organized by the International Co-Responder Alliance (ICRA), celebrates, and recognizes the vital work of co-responders and crisis responders across the country, who address the increasing demand for mental health and substance use services.
Co-Responder models leverage the strengths of respective agencies to provide collaborative approaches to mental and behavioral health crises. Tulsa is one of the first cities in the U.S. to recognize the significant impact of the Co-Response model. In addition to the CRT, Tulsa has introduced the Alternative Response Team (ART), a mobile co-response unit with an FCS COPES clinician and TFD paramedic, and the Integrated Response Team (IRT), a partnership between FCS and TPD that embeds mental health professionals in all Tulsa Police divisions. This allows mental health professionals to respond to multiple officer calls from each division instead of only one officer assigned to a specialty team.
Capt. Justin Lemery, Director of Emergency and Medical Services for the Tulsa Fire Department, stated that the community response model is a valuable resource compared to the traditional 911 system, where co-responders handle the immediate situation but there is no follow-up.
“We are thankful for Family & Children’s Services, because in this circumstance, that individual gets follow-up. And we make sure that they’re getting that assistance that they need to continue that care,” he said.
By providing timely and appropriate interventions, these teams help improve the overall quality of life for many Tulsans.
Learn more about Tulsa’s co-responder teams by listening to the OK State of Mind podcast.
