News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville has added a new behavioral crisis line that will send social workers and EMTs out to potential mental health issues, instead of law enforcement.
NAMI Tennessee has been working with the city to create the Cookeville Community Response. The focus: mitigate violence and arrests. NAMI Tennessee’s Miranda Jones said the assistance will help those with a mental or behavioral crisis.
“Cookeville was one of the first to start using these types of programs,” Jones said. “And because it is a rural area that doesn’t have the resources like big cities do, so sometimes it’s a lot harder for people to get the correct help that they need.”
The assistance will give those who are struggling help rather than punishment. Jones said social workers have way more training than law enforcement on these types of issues and understand how to communicate with people who experience a behavioral crisis.
“As long as there is no history of violence in the location or for the person themself It would just be the social worker with an EMT in case there is a medical emergency that comes up,” Jones said.
Jones said the assistance will help dispatch by limiting the call load, saving taxpayers money, and providing a better service for those who need the help.
“We know that it’s going to help with the call load of the police department,” Jones said. “It’s going to save millions in taxpayer money, and just overall create a safer and more trusting environment between the residents of Cookeville, that is where we are starting and law enforcement. Hopefully, people will trust and know they can call 911 and be safe.”
The program is in a soft launch currently, Jones said. During the soft launch, NAMI will use the results to better the program and attempt to expand it nationwide in the future.
