Julie Doucette sometimes feels like "a social worker with a gun.”
As Orillia OPP’s mental health co-ordinator, and a former crisis worker, that’s essentially what she is.
The constable has held that position for three years, during which she has made connections with local organizations, as well as community members who have mental health challenges.
It’s all part of the provincial force’s efforts to better deal with mental health calls for service, which take up plenty of police time.
“I take pride in building a lot of relationships in the community that weren’t there before,” Doucette said.
She worked with Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital to create a “transfer of care” agreement. When police would take someone to the hospital, they had to wait around for an average of six hours. Since the agreement was made in January, the average amount of time officers have had to wait at the hospital is one hour.
Doucette seemed a natural choice for the position of mental health co-ordinator when OPP created the position for each of its detachments. Before becoming a police officer nine years ago, she was a crisis worker with the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).
“It was a balance of having empathy for individuals and also holding people accountable,” she said of her decision to switch careers. “In policing, it’s important to walk that tightrope.”
And to drive it.
Doucette is joined by CMHA crisis worker Matt Cooper on some mental health calls. Crisis workers ride along with local police three times per month, for eight hours each shift, but that’s “not enough,” Doucette said.
“We are arguably one of the (busiest) detachments for mental health and domestic violence calls for service,” said Doucette, who, before taking on her current role, was Orillia OPP’s domestic violence co-ordinator. “Because there is such a demand in this community, I only focus on mental health.”
Sgt. Steve Cartwright, an OPP officer for 28 years, has seen many changes in policing during his career and he sees the value of the CMHA-OPP relationship.
“Ideally, I’d like to see mental health workers working out of the detachment,” he said.
Cartwright knows what he can do, legally, when responding to a mental health call, “but I know there are other people who can be called to assist us.”
The CMHA has applied for a grant to allow crisis workers to go on ride-alongs and accompany officers on calls where they could be of assistance. They are still waiting to learn whether they will receive the funding from the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).
CMHA ride-alongs have been happening for about five years with Orillia OPP, Barrie OPP and South Simcoe Police, and the agency is working on adding Barrie Police Service and Nottawasaga OPP to the list.
“The need is greater than three shifts a month. We want to put this service in Orillia for two shifts a week,” said Himanshu Shah, director of clinical services with the CMHA’s Simcoe County branch. “Crisis workers have experience and knowledge and police provide safety. It is a complement.”
It seems to be working. The CMHA reports there have been no instances of use of force by police on mental health calls when a crisis worker is present.
“That tells you that it brings the right service at the right time,” said Kerry Dault, program manager, crisis services, with the CMHA in Simcoe County. “There’s a reduction in apprehensions. There’s a reduction in hospital visits. There are lots of unanticipated benefits to it.”
When police apprehend someone on a mental health call without a crisis worker present, the rate of admission to hospital is 60 to 70 per cent. With a crisis worker along for the ride, the admission rate is 100 per cent, Dault said.
At the least, the ride-along program, called COAST (Crisis Outreach and Support Team), can help connect people with the services they need. About 70 per cent of the people the CMHA and OPP respond to together have not been connected with mental health supports.
“That surprised me a little bit,” Dault said. “The CMHA is a big agency and we’re pretty branded out there, so it was a bit surprising.”
Dault recalled the time the CMHA, at the request of police, checked in on a woman who could not leave her house and was frequently calling 911.
“She was physically unwell, drinking a lot. With some support, we helped her get to the hospital to get physically assessed,” she said.
That woman is now sober and housed in her own apartment, with support.
“We were fearful that one day we would find her on the floor, choking on her own vomit,” Dault said. “So, it was a good story.”
When the CMHA made its pitch for cash to the LHIN at a meeting in March, every police force in Simcoe County had someone in attendance to show support for the proposal.
“Our LHIN is very supportive of this initiative,” Shah said.
However, the money is needed to get it off the ground. Asked when she would like to see the funding, Dault said, “Yesterday.”
In the meantime, Doucette has been doing her part by educating fellow officers. Two-thirds of Orillia OPP’s frontline officers received training from Doucette on referrals, spotting symptoms of mental illness, and de-escalation.
The last one is key. When officers show up to mental health calls, they’re not always well received.
A 16-year-old boy, who was large for his age, would respond with “explosive anger” when police would answer a call for service at his residence. That changed when a crisis worker showed up.
“It had the potential for a lot of aggression, but he was responsive to the intervention and follow-up calls from crisis workers,” Dault said. “Once a crisis worker is present, it’s a whole different feel. They have some support.”
That is one example of the program’s success, and police want to see more like it.
“We don’t want to just respond when they’re in crisis. We want to avoid that (crisis),” Cartwright said.
“We are the first response to crisis,” Doucette added, “but we have identified that we are not the solution.”
But they are helping to create a solution.
“Kudos to OPP Orillia,” Shah said. “They have invested so much manpower and commitment to this partnership.”
