Mental health liaison partners with police

MARENGO — Both Marengo and Williamsburg Police Chiefs say the addition of a mental health law enforcement liaison has reduced the number of calls they’ve seen to some residences.

“It’s really kind of two … roles,” said Williamsburg Police Chief Justin Parsons. If a person is in crisis, the liaison can respond to the call with law enforcement. Officers deal with the public safety issues while the liaison addresses the mental health needs of the person involved.

The other role is to follow-up with people law enforcement has dealt with, Parsons said.

“From a resource perspective, we have definitely seen results from having the follow-up,” said Parsons.

Officers are frequently called to the same residences to deal with people they refer to as “frequent flyers.”

“What’s happened for us is we’ve seen a serious decline in people … in that cycle,” Parsons said.

When Parsons became police chief, he followed up himself, he said. But he’s been an officer in Iowa County for 26 years, “and when you come from law enforcement, you have that relationship with people.”

The liaison is not a law enforcement officer. “That’s important for people to know,” said Parsons.

A reduction in repeat calls was one of the advantages Benton County saw in having a liaison, said Marengo Police Chief Ben Gray. Iowa County looked at results from Benton County’s program before beginning its own.

Benton County had seen less time for dispatch and fewer calls for the same people, said Gray. Marengo has seen the same.

“We’ve seen our numbers reduced,” said Gray. “We’ve seen a decrease in the frequency in some of our callers.”

Even when law enforcement does respond, “Our time on scene has been reduced,” said Gray.

“We started the program in February last year,” said Parsons. The Iowa County Sheriff’s Department and Williamsburg and Marengo Police Departments hired Unity Stevens, with CommUnity Crisis Services in Iowa City as law enforcement liaison. “Unity worked with us until July.”

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Heather Wells replaced Stevens earlier this year. “I worked for CommUnity Crisis Services since the fall of 2019,” said Wells. She took online classes from Buena Vista University and graduated with a double major in psychology and human services.

In pursuit of her degree, Wells took classes about rural communities. “That’s really what sparked my interest to work here,” she said.

Wells is employed by CommUnity but works with the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department and Williamsburg and Marengo Police Departments to find mental health resources for people who need them.

Wells splits her time evenly between the three law enforcement agencies, she said, but she has to be flexible. “I make my schedule kind of based on where I’m needed.”

Law enforcement has to respond to mental health calls because they can be public safety issues, said Parsons. People naturally call the police.

“We all know that law enforcement is not equipped to deal with these mental health crises,” said Parsons.

“We can take care of the safety part,” Parsons said. Then officers determine if the person is an offender or a patient. “That’s where Heather takes over.”

“Correctional facilities are not where these people belong,” said Gray, but when mental health facilities closed, police had nowhere to take them but jail.

Police receive training to deal with mental health issues, but not to the extent that some people need. “We’re not mental health counselors,” said Gray.

During a call, police may deal with people who have organic mental health struggles, said Wells. They may also deal with people who have financial difficulties, food insecurity or children with behavioral issues. She evaluates each situation and refers people to the agencies that are available to meet their needs.

“That frees the officers’ time,” said Wells.

Officers call a mental health professional when they determine that they are dealing with something that is not the role of law enforcement, said Parsons. Sometimes it’s just a matter of follow-up “to make sure that they’re stable,” Parsons said.

If Wells isn’t available, CommUnity has Mobile Crisis counselors who are on call 24/7. Two crisis counselors will meet people wherever they are when they need help, said Wells. Sometimes the issue is resolved in 30 minutes. Sometimes it takes three hours.

That service is separate from the liaison, but it also comes from CommUnity Crisis Services, Wells said.

“All my referrals are from law enforcement,” said Wells. She can guide people to therapists, medication managers and support groups, behavioral intervention agencies or school advocates, depending on the need.

Wells has bookmarked every nonprofit for quick response, she said.

Anyone having a mental health crisis can bypass police by calling 988 to talk directly with a mental health professional, said Gray. If law enforcement is needed due to safety concerns, people should call 911.

Law Enforcement agencies have been working for years to decrease the number of mental health patients in their jails. Sometimes there is nothing else they can do if the community is in danger, said Parsons. But that’s just putting a Band-Aid on it.

It does no good not to deal with the core problems, Parsons said.

Wells doesn’t see working in rural communities as a challenge, she said. “I see there are a lot of benefits. We all stay very, very busy.

“I know all the officers,” said Wells. “They genuinely care about the community.”

But the state does a disservice to small communities by giving them so little assistance, said Wells. “So sometimes I have to get creative.” She may have to call another county for help.

As a whole, there is a lack of resources, said Parsons. In the East Central Mental Health Region, many counties — Johnson, Linn, Dubuque — are larger than Iowa County. “They take a lot of the resources,” said Parsons.

People in charge look at the map and see that Iowa City is close to Iowa County and assume that Iowa County can use their resources. “But we have a lot of residents in Iowa County … that just don’t have the ability to be mobile,” Parsons said.

What concerns Gray is whether the liaisons will be funded when the State reorganizes its mental health regions into state-controlled districts. If the state doesn’t pay for it, local governments will have to.

That’s difficult when budgets are already being cut. Hard decisions are being made everywhere, Gray said.

During the first year, the liaison was funded 100% by CommUnity, said Gray, but eventually law enforcement will pay 75% and CommUnity 25%.

“The thing that’s killing us is the property tax rollbacks,” Gray said. “We’re the biggest part of the budget,” he said, so public safety is the first place to look for cuts.

“I understand the concept that taxes are so high,” said Gray, but people want public safety services 24 hours a day. “Property taxes are how we provide the services.”

“This position is immensely valuable,” said Gray of the mental health liaison.

“I feel very lucky to be here,” said Wells.