A Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training is designed to help law enforcement learn new strategies for responding to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

The four-day class, sponsored by the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Arcata Police Department and the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), focuses on helping police officers and other law enforcement officials to identify major mental health disorders and other disabilities and to use specific techniques for responding to them in the field. Information about resources and services for mental health clients in Humboldt County will also be provided.

“We recognize that a high proportion of emergency service calls concern a mental health crisis, especially among homeless persons,” said Mark Lamers, DHHS Mental Health supervising clinician, who will be presenting an introduction to CIT at the training as well as talking about "Verbal De-escalation" and “Writing 5150 Holds.”

“Law enforcement personnel who attend CIT will learn specific strategies to help resolve crises and will be provided with presentations and informational materials on accessing both mental health resources and other community providers of supportive services,” Lamers said.

Officers from the Arcata and Fortuna police departments and correctional officers with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office will be participating in the CIT training. Also attending are rangers from the national and state park systems and a representative from North Coast Emergency Medical Services.

A highlight of the training is a daylong presentation on “Crisis Intervention Law Enforcement”. The scheduled speakers are Deputy Josh Todt, a 20-year veteran with the Marin County Sheriff’s Office, and Joey Fay, a former police officer who is now a psychologist specializing in police interactions with homeless and mentally ill individuals.

“This training has great benefits to officers who work with those with mental illness on the streets or elsewhere in the course of their work,” said DHHS Mental Health Director Asha George. “These trainings help officers understand mental health issues and decriminalize mental illness so interactions between officers and those with mental illness result in the client getting the appropriate level of treatment.”

Some of the other presenters include Humboldt County Superior Court Judge John Feeney, who will talk about 5150 psychiatric hold and the law; Doug Rose-Noble, who will discuss veterans and post-traumatic stress disorder; Kris Huschle of DHHS Public Health, who will talk about suicide prevention resources; and Bryan Hall, who will discuss Eureka Rescue Mission services. There will also be panel discussions from NAMI, the Humboldt County Transition Age Youth Collaboration and the Seeds of Understanding Speaker’s Collective.

Since Humboldt County’s CIT trainings began in 2007, more than 330 representatives from law enforcement agencies, parks systems, ambulance services, DHHS, tribes, the Probation Department and medical facilities have attended.

For more information, please visit Humboldt County's website.