GREAT FALLS — Alluvion Health in Great Falls is working to improve and expand mental health resources by bringing its community partners together for a new crisis intervention program.
"Taking pieces that are in operation, the ones that are operating very well, the ones that are evidence-based, and adding to them. Putting data-driven measures to them,” said Dusti Zimmer, Chief Clinical Operations Officer.
A presentation of the draft plan was made to city commissioners at their work session Tuesday night; click here to see the presentation (PDF). The proposal is a work in progress and will be largely based on community input, however, so Alluvion was careful not to get very specific about it.
"The crisis intervention proposal itself will have its own board. So with those stakeholders, if we identify too many pieces and fill in too much of that information that, then, limits the ability for the stakeholder board to develop the rest of the project together,” Zimmer explained.
Crisis intervention training for law enforcement could be a big factor in the project. Training was taking place all week at Montana ExpoPark.
"First and foremost, as a Sheriff, for me it's about customer service. It's about bringing the right tools to the job,” said Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said about the training.
As much of a help to the project as law enforcement may be, the project could prove to be just as helpful for law enforcement.
"The project that they're working n right now with the Crisis Intervention Program is what we've been looking for from the law enforcement perspective for several years,” said Captain John Schaffer of the Great Falls Police Department.
