The Tamaqua Police Department received funding that will allow officers to work alongside co-responders who will help with behavioral health-related calls.

“The co-responder will assist the Tamaqua police on calls for mental health crises, substance abuse incidents, domestic violence, homelessness, welfare checks and behavioral disturbances,” police Chief Michael Hobbs recently told Tamaqua Borough Council.

Mayor Nathan Gerace said the program will be an asset, since the department will have response staff available to help when help is needed.

“Rather than call on an outside agency and have to wait, we will have someone on hand,” Gerace said. “It will free up the police officers.”

The approximate $230,000 grant was secured by the department and the Schuylkill County Mental Health/Development Services, and comes from the Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Health Response Program of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Thanks to the funding, the program won’t cost the borough a dime.

“We are contracting with the Center for Community Resources to hire the staff and to work with the police department with the co-responder program,” explained Elaine Gilbert, who heads the county’s mental health/development services.

CCR is the county’s crisis provider and has assisted with co-responder programs in other counties, Gilbert noted.

“Their expertise is in this area,” she explained. “We chose them because they already have the experience and I knew that they could oversee the program and do the hiring. I knew that they would work well with the Tamaqua Police Department.”

Hobbs said co-responders will be a “huge asset” because they have expertise in dealing with mental health crises. They are also trained to de-escalate situations, which reduces the need for police to use force, he said.

“They will have resources available to help people in distress and make sure victims receive the help and follow-up support that is needed,” Hobbs said.

“It’s not like they’re out there and just leave,” Gilbert added. “Once the call comes through for the co-responders to go out there, they do an assessment to determine whether they need a higher level of service.”

They can offer immediate support then connect them with the resources they need.

“Officers don’t always have the ability to do that. Not because they won’t. It’s often because they don’t have the time,” she said. “The whole idea is that we want our police officers to do what they do best.”

Gilbert said the program will be tailored to fit Tamaqua’s needs.

“Needs are different from area to area,” she said. “We work with police to determine how do they want this, how do they want to see this working and what times, shifts or schedules work best for them.”

Hobbs added that having a co-responder improves outcomes for individuals in crisis and thus, enhances overall community safety.

“We believe this is a great, additional service that can be offered to the community, period,” Gilbert said.