LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After an increase in mental health awareness and calls for help in Lexington, first responders in the city are investing in more resources internally and externally.
The statistics can be alarming; Mental Health America's latest analysis of state data revealed that 22.5% or 762,000 adults in Kentucky have been diagnosed with a mental behavioral or emotional disorder. That's not including unreported people experiencing homelessness or being jailed.
Emergency responders in Lexington estimate they are seeing 3,000 calls related to mental health a year. It's why, earlier this week, they announced they would use a $850,000 grant to create a community crisis team to better help people experiencing a crisis.
A full-time mental health professional can join them on mental health calls, providing specialized resources.
They'll also be able to pay for overtime for police officers who have taken specialized training in responding to mental health emergencies, which currently includes approximately 45 officers.
From gruesome murders to senseless crimes, some experiences can be traumatizing for first responders as well.
"Things that might be a little beyond what just an average citizen may go to a counseling session for," said Commander Chris Cooper with Lexington Police. "The awareness of how that traumatic stuff actually affects you and weighs you down is just so much greater compared to what it used to be."
Cooper is responsible for recruiting people to join them. He says today's generation is more aware and comfortable talking about mental health.
It's one more reason they focus more on the mental health of those who serve. They've hired a mental health and wellness coordinator so their team can access a licensed professional clinical counselor directly.
"Having our own in-house program, we're able to offer these services free to our folks, and it's not only to our sworn officers, but to our civilian personnel, and we also extend the offer to our retirees and everybody's family," said Cooper.
He says the counselor has already seen clients in the few months they've been there and is becoming a familiar name on the force.
"I think it would be good for everybody and again, you know, to rest assured that our police department cares about our people, that we invest in our folks, and ultimately, we're reinvesting back in the community by providing these services," said Cooper.
He's hoping it will help officers not have to live with their trauma or take it home to their families in silence.
They were able to utilize a separate grant to hire the coordinator full-time.
"For us to be able to bring that here to Lexington, I was extremely excited," said Cooper.
