Justin Lundy and Dolan Reynolds
3 hours ago
BURLINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) — Burlington police officers routinely respond to mental health calls.
In 2023, the number exceeded 400.
When cops need someone to help on the scene, they bring in Samantha Mitchell. She is the department’s only law enforcement crisis counselor.
Mitchells says she knows of many stories of police officers asking her for help.
“We received a call that a young woman was having her home broken into…When they encountered her, they discovered she had mental health issues. At her request, I went on-site and conducted a psychotherapy risk assessment with her to determine which services would be most appropriate and beneficial for her,” Mitchell said.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, from 2022 to 2023, 31 people per 10,000 people in Alamance County required a mobile crisis visit.
This is 10 times more than Guilford County’s three visits.
This is one of the reasons why NCDHHS has agreed to invest more than $1.3 million to add a trauma-informed mobile crisis response team to the City of Burlington.
Kelly Crosby, director of NCDHHS’ mental health division, said there are 33 mobile crisis units with certified counselors in the state.
RHA Health Services and Vaya Health submitted the application on behalf of the City in the hope that additional counselors could help Burlington Police Department appropriately de-escalate the situation and provide people with the assistance they need.
“No disrespect whatsoever to law enforcement. They’re great partners. But let’s be honest, when a police officer or an ambulance comes to your house, it doesn’t calm you down. If you’re in a mental health crisis, that’s it. It’s not calming,” Crosby said.
The Winston-Salem Police Department and the Greensboro Police Department already have similar programs in place.
In Winston-Salem, certified crisis counselors are part of the behavioral assessment and response team.
In Greensboro, that group is called the Behavioral Health Response Team.
WSPD operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and GPD operates from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Mitchell’s work hours cannot be changed until a trauma-informed mobile crisis response team is formed.
“We are definitely looking at expanding this capability to give our officers more access to clinicians who are on duty 24 hours a day, at different times of the day, in the community. We’re going to see an increase in different crises across the board, so it’s important that we get the support we need,” Mitchell said.
Crosby said a trauma-informed mobile crisis response team will begin operating in Burlington next month.
