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Lima looks to add mental health services to emergency response

Lima News - 9/2/2021

Sep. 2—LIMA — The City of Lima announced a new initiative that will focus on bringing better mental health services to emergency situations.

The Emergency Response Mental Health Collaborative will be a partnership between Lima's emergency response services and Coleman Health Services, which will be able to send mental health professionals to assist the city's police officers, firefighters and first responders on calls.

The program has the potential to help emergency responders get out in front of mental health issues that they encounter on calls, as opposed to working with individuals after interaction with law enforcement has already taken place.

"We are here just for the crises," said Coleman Chief Officer Margaret Lawrence. "To help de-escalate, to do crisis intervention, (provide) resources and meet the person where they're at. Sometimes people are more comfortable in the home than when we have to go to the hospitals or the jails."

Lima Police Chief Kevin Martin said that the presence of a mental health professional on hand with the police can change the interaction for the better in many cases.

"Sometimes people who are maybe in a mental health crisis, they automatically have concerns with anyone in authority," Martin said. "So if all of a sudden they see the police officer and I'm saying 'hey, I just want to take you to the hospital,' they're going to be less inclined to believe me than they would somebody like Margaret."

Lima Fire Department Chief Andy Heffner explained why working with Coleman will help make things easier on his firefighters and the people they are helping.

"You'll get that call at three o'clock in the morning, you hear the address, you know their name, you know what their problem is. You walk in and they know your name, and in two days, you're going to be back in that situation," he said. "This is going to help our firefighters be more efficient, more effective and it's going to get results for the people that we serve."

There isn't a specific date set for when the program will officially start yet, but Lima City Council will take a vote on approving the program on September 13. Should it pass, Martin said that they want to get the program moving "very, very soon."

Reach Trevor Hubert at 567-242-0398

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