The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office is sponsoring a countywide ride-along event on Sept. 8between Blueprints for Addiction Recovery and participating local police departments aimed at assisting individuals in need of mental health and substance abuse services.
The ride-along program, or co-responder model, merges the expertise of law enforcement with specialists in the substance abuse and mental health field who can assist in either crisis de-escalation and/or connecting those individuals to the appropriate services in lieu of the criminal justice system.
“I credit our law enforcement in Lancaster County for providing public safety and enforcing our laws while also embracing meaningful ways to serve our entire community, such as participating in the ride-along program and supporting Blueprints’ Second Chance program,” District Attorney Heather Adams said. “With the support of Blueprints and police, we can make a meaningful difference to those in need of mental health and substance abuse services.”
Blueprints donates various Counselors, Case Managers, CRS’s (Certified Recovery Specialist), and CPS’s (Certified Peer Specialist) to participating departments to ride along with police officers on their shifts. There will also be stationary CRS/CPS staff on call to take over cases that require more than the average amount of time, so the roving team doesn’t need to stay off the street for longer than necessary.
Blueprints began the county ride-along program last September to great success; it developed a weekly regimen with Lancaster City Bureau of Police and schedules with other departments based on specific needs. Referrals were made in 13 cases in Lancaster city in the first month of ride-alongs. The twice weekly ride-alongs with Lancaster City Police are up to 184 contacts with individuals and a treatment services connection rate of 54% since September.
“The Lancaster City Bureau of Police has found great benefit from its partnership with Blueprints over the course of the last several months,” Captain Kurt Miller said. “The partnership has yielded numerous positive outcomes relating to diverting people into recovery programs and treatment. Not only has this partnership made a difference in the community, but it has also helped promote and develop more well-rounded police officers.”
The ride-alongs build on the partnership between law enforcement and Blueprints’ Second Chance PA program, which allows officers to call Blueprints staff to incidents involving mental health and substance use. The responding staff then assesses the case and can make referrals to the appropriate treatment, rather than law enforcement charging individuals with crimes.
“Police Departments are the only local social service providers in the county that are available 24/7/365,” West Lampeter Township Police Chief Brian Wiczkowski said. “Many times, people in need of mental health and/or drug recovery help can’t wait until business hours to receive assistance. The diversion ride-along program enables us to connect service providers to our community when and where they need it.”
Currently, Columbia Borough, East Cocalico Township, East Lampeter Township, Lancaster City Bureau of Police, Lititz Borough, Manheim Township, Millersville University, Northwest Regional, Pequea Township, and West Lampeter Township Police Departments have agreed to participate in the ride-along Sept. 8 with others to be added.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.
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