Partnering with the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Auburn University at Montgomery, WellStone Behavioral Health helped sponsor Crisis Intervention Training for area law enforcement April 25-28 at Calhoun Community College in Huntsville. The CIT training is a nationally recognized best-practice designed to help law enforcement identify mental illness and substance abuse issues and de-escalate crisis situations when they are encountered. The Madison County Sheriff’s Department took a leadership role in bringing this training to our community and officers from the Huntsville Police Department and several other communities also participated. After the training, WellStone continues working with a local coalition of mental health advocates to identify funding for a crisis assessment center that law enforcement can utilize as an alternative resource to inappropriate incarcerations or emergency department visits. To learn more about this initiative, click on the following link:
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2017/05/mental_health_alabama.html