Co-Responder Project is a two-part grant that focuses on peers working alongside police officers to answer emergency calls to reduce the chances of charges and get individuals into services for recovery.

The first part of this grant focused on a ten-day academy that included classes such as the Forensic Peer Training and Trauma Sensitive Peer. Police officers were invited to these classes to be students and worked alongside peers to better understand trauma and responding to trauma.

The second phase of the project is actually having peers in the police cars working alongside police officers answering the calls. Peers will assist with diverting individuals into services and following-up with the individual to ensure that individual indeed got services. Peers will help address obstacles that the individual may be facing to get into treatment and help them create solutions to these obstacles.

Data will be collected to see the impact of peers working alongside police officers and the effectiveness of diversion in regard to recidivism rates. 

Questions? Contact us at PMHCA@pmhca.org.