In 2019, Montezuma County residents, governments, health care providers, and law enforcement worked together to identify potential solutions to help increase access to behavioral healthcare and address health disparities. What came out of that collaboration was the Montezuma County Community Intervention Program, a nonpolice mobile crisis prevention and response initiative that is integrated into the county’s public safety system. Response teams are comprised of a behavioral health clinician and an EMT, who offer free response for a broad range of non-criminal crises, and also provide transportation, referrals to services, and follow-up. The county and various municipal governments allocated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support one year of the pilot project. LOR’s funding supported the purchase of four high-quality radios that work throughout the rural areas of the county to ensure the teams can maintain direct communication.
Impact
Between May and August 2022 the CIP team responded to more than 120 calls.
In The News
Montezuma County Launches Community Intervention Program (Cortez Journal)
Montezuma County Approves Community Intervention Program (Cortez Journal)
