The Wellington County OPP and the Waterloo Wellington Dufferin branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) have officially signed an agreement for the new Integrated Mobile Police and Crisis Team (IMPACT).
The program, funded by the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integrated Network, enables specially-trained mental health clinicians to attend mental health related calls with Wellington County OPP officers.
The goal, officials say, is to ensure Wellington County residents receive the most appropriate and helpful community-based crisis response at the right time and place, providing “less intrusive” interventions by reducing the need for emergency room and hospital involvement.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Wellington County OPP to be able to provide a comprehensive response to people with mental health and addictions issues in their time of need, in the comfort of their homes and community,” said local CMHA acting executive director Helen Fishburn.
“Our ability to respond to the person’s needs, complete a full assessment, provide support, and ensure their safety is maintained will only be enhanced by having mental health clinicians and police work hand in hand.”
Fishburn continued, “We know that we will be able to improve health outcomes for people, keep people out of hospital, and keep our community safe by creating this innovative team and collaborative approach.”
Wellington County OPP Inspector Scott Lawson stated, “The signing of this agreement formalizes an already-existing partnership that has been in place since May 2015 when mental health clinicians employed by CMHA [moved into the OPP station in Aboyne] … (It’s) one of the first of its kind for the OPP.”
Lawson added, “We’ve already seen very positive outcomes having the clinicians and officers working together.
“By solidifying the legal and privacy concerns we know the program will only continue to grow which is very encouraging for our community.”
