YARMOUTH -The Yarmouth Police Department has received $120,000 in grant funding from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health for FY23 to support our mental health initiatives.
This is the 6th year the DMH grant has been awarded to the Yarmouth Police Department since FY18. The original grant award of $60,000 was used to hire one part-time clinician to work with the department officers, increase officer training, and establish a more comprehensive approach to supporting those living with mental illness in our community.
Since the initial grant award, we have increased our staff to include two part-time clinicians and have expanded outreach and co-response hours. Officer training has also grown to encompass dispatchers and supervisors and provide advanced training for the officers assigned to the Mental Health Outreach Unit.
The Yarmouth Police Department established the Mental Health Outreach Unit in 2013 to more effectively address the increase in mental health related calls for service in the community. Our focus has been to reach those living with mental illness in our community and connect them with the appropriate services. We understand that we can develop more comprehensive solutions to problems by working with our community partners in the social services sector.
This past year, State Representative Kippy Diggs and Senator Julian Cyr secured funding through the ARPA program to support mental health clinicians in the Town of Yarmouth. The funding will be used over the next five years to help support the second clinician position.
The Yarmouth Police Department is staffed with two part-time clinicians who work approximately 32 hours per week. The clinicians work varied schedules to provide for response hours and attend meetings. The clinicians conducted 187 follow-up contacts with individuals in our community in FY21 and over 200 in FY22.
They conduct outreach and respond to calls for service with a trained crisis intervention officer during their working hours.
We appreciate the continued support of our initiatives and want to thank all our community partners for helping us advance our capabilities as a department. The Yarmouth Police Department will continue to strive toward supporting our community members using the best and most professional practices available.
