COURTESY OF THE BARNSTABLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
BARNSTABLE – The Barnstable Police Department has received a $50,000 grant to further the efforts of the Community Impact Unit’s Innovative Jail Diversion Program.
The Community Impact Unit was implemented in May 2014 in response to the growing homeless and street population in downtown Hyannis.
Since its inception, the Community Impact Unit has forged partnerships with the Department of Mental Health, Vinfen, Duffy Health Care, Cape Cod Hospital, the Housing Assistance Corporation, Baybridge Clubhouse, and Barnstable District Court Probation to provide a comprehensive and systematic response to the disproportionate number of persons in social and mental health crisis in downtown Hyannis.
Through the Innovative Jail Diversion Program, the Community Impact Unit will divert persons in mental health crisis away from the criminal justice system and towards appropriate treatment.
The Lorusso Foundation grant funds will enable three members of the Community Impact Unit to become certified Mental Health First Aid instructors through an intense 40-hour curriculum.
Once certified as instructors, the Community Impact Unit will provide 8-hour Mental Health First Aid training to Barnstable police officers to improve their response to persons in mental health crisis throughout the Town of Barnstable.
The Community Impact Unit aims to later provide Mental Health First Aid training to other first responders throughout the Cape region.
Mental Health First Aid is a nationally recognized 8-hour course that teaches officers to identify persons in mental health crisis, diffuse situations, and redirect individuals to appropriate services.
The result is improved outcomes for individuals in crisis and less risk of injury to the individual, the officer, and the community.
