A year ago, the city of Lawrenceville and View Point Health entered into an agreement creating a Police-–Mental Health Collaborator to provide a co-responder program that began operation in July 2021.
This agreement allowed the Lawrenceville Police department to have two behavioral health clinicians to dispatch with officers who are on crisis-related calls and to assist individuals in obtaining the proper services after a crisis.These clinicians serve as the Community Response Team. The program is called Project F.I.R.S.T, which stands for: “For Intensive Response & Supportive Transitions.” The View Point Help staff are referred to as FIRST Clinicians.
“Our research and national statistics overwhelmingly support what we have found to be true in Lawrenceville,” Mayor David Still said. “When co-responder programs are implemented effectively, both incarcerations and recidivism are greatly reduced. These reductions free up budget dollars for key personnel, infrastructure improvements, and programs. It’s a win-win.”
According to a press release, the CRT defines crises in Lawrenceville broadly, and involves issues such as homelessness, emergency transportation, and substance abuse, among others. In its first year, the CRT responded to 879 crisis calls and only eight resulted in an arrest. In comparison, patrol had 5,809 calls and 504 calls resulted in an arrest.
“Once mental health professionals from Project F.I.R.S.T. were able to assess and direct individuals toward the services needed, crisis-related calls reduced, and in many cases, they stopped completely,” Officer Jacob Baird, Community Engagement Officer said.
Project F.I.R.S.T staff also established relationships with local non–profits to further assist individuals in need. In the last year, the program has provided services to aid with emergency housing, food, and emergency transportation needs.
The program has also been successful in establishing community partnerships including View Point Health, Magnuson, Northside Hospital Gwinnett, Recovery Foundations, Across the Bridge, Uber, Greyhound, Lawrenceville Co-op, Impact46, Lawrenceville Senior Center, Gwinnett Health and Human Services, and Veteran’s Administration.
For additional information on Project F.I.R.S.T., visit lville.city/Co-Responder.
