ROWLEY — The chiefs of the Rowley, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland and Newbury police departments are pleased to announce that the first round of behavioral health training under the five departments’ newly funded Component Jail Diversion Program was exit.
Police in Rowley, Boxford, Georgetown, Groveland and Newbury received funding through the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health/Jail Arrest Diversion Grant Program to hire a Jail Diversion Physician to work in conjunction with each one of the five police departments and provide further training in behavioral health to members of each of the five partner agencies.
The first round of 22 trainees from the five partner agencies successfully completed the training on Tuesday, November 22 and are now certified in Mental Health First Aid.
This critical training includes: summaries of common mental health and substance use disorders; how to recognize common risk factors and warning signs; crisis dissemination and follow-up tactics; affirmative and reassuring tactics; and how to foster appropriate support.
The training is being used to: increase the safety of citizens and officers; increase services available to community members; reduce unnecessary arrests; reduce undue strain on the emergency services system; and successfully diverting behavioral health patients to treatment or connection to services as needed.
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