Paul Williams is Springfield’s police chief. He describes the city’s mental health co-responder program this way: "Getting law enforcement as initial first responder out of the way, and getting people connected to services and keeping them from having to engage with law enforcement and either being taken to jail or the hospital.”
The co-responder program launched in September 2022. It's a partnership of the Springfield Police Department and Burrell Behavioral Health. The effort pairs trained mental health and substance abuse counselors with police officers. Their goal is to identify individuals in crisis and connect them to health and mental wellness services, without involving the justice system.
Police say they’ve already seen the benefits of the co-responder program, lessening repeated emergency calls from some individuals and reducing the need for police response. That frees up officers to respond to other pressing needs.
Holli Triboulet is Burrell Behavioral Health’s project director for the co-responder effort. She says directing resources toward this kind of preventative care will pay off for the community, not just in terms of improved mental health — but also dollar-wise.
Triboulet said, “We may not get them all the first time but if we can save five additional calls to deal with the same issue, then it’s going to pay for itself, plus some.”
The mental health co-responder expansion is funded by a grant from the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Springfield City Council voted to approve the $798,000 dollar award on Monday night. The money will provide co-responder coverage on days and times that are not currently staffed.
