The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | November 2023
Connect & Protect : A Model Program by the Best and Brightest in Law Enforcement and Mental Health
By Cherie Castellano , MA , LPC , AAETS Rutgers National Center for Peer Support Program Director
At Cop2Cop we respond daily to offer assistance due to crises , violence , shootings and trauma impacting law enforcement officers and the communities they serve throughout New Jersey . In West Orange , New Jersey I was able to interview a team of law enforcement and mental health leaders who gave me hope that change is possible and that a caring community can make a difference . The current mental health epidemic and law enforcement community issues foster an environment of division , despair and dissention . Then a program like “ Connect & Protect ” is launched and developed to create the change we all need to see to be inspired . The West Orange Police Chief Jimmy Abbott , Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris CEO Robert Davison and Achille DeJean LPC , Connect & Protect Clinical Supervisors , candidly shared how they got to the point of connecting and protecting as a unified team .
The heart behind the Connect & Protect funding , awards , formal collaboration and agreements began with people who cared . The homeless were often in the same area of town in West Orange , struggling with mental illness and addiction challenges often , and rather than the routine pick-ups citations and arrests , a few good leaders said “ How can we help together ?” The series of events that followed have culminated in the successful launch maintenance and expansion of the innovative “ Connect & Protect ” Initiative based on the partnership of the West Orange Police Department and the Mental Health Association of Essex .
West Orange Police Chief James Abbott explained , “ As for the most important aspects of the Connect & Protect program I would say the key points are not in any specific order . Our mission statement and core values are the very essence of this program . It offers an opportunity to work alongside and learn from clinical practitioners with a different perspective and expertise . It will reduce the likelihood of incarceration , injuries and deaths to both those afflicted and those responding which are often the unintended consequences of a law enforcement response culminating in an inappropriate handling of people with mental health disorders often exacerbated by substance dependency and homelessness .”
WOPD has partnered with the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris , an independent 501 ( c )( 3 ) organization headquartered at 80 Main Street in West Orange across from the WOPD . It is nationally recognized for its leadership in mental health issues with Robert Davison serving as its Chief Executive Officer . Bob Davison explained during our interview , “ When you have a police department interested in working with you — you jump on it .”
The sentiment echoed repeatedly as I interviewed the leaders and people responsible today for this incredible program was simple . Both mental health and law enforcement professionals share a powerful bond , they both are in service and they both want to do the right thing . In 2020 shortly after the George Floyd murder the Connect & Protect team wanted to expand and interact better with residents and avoid force whenever possible and additional funding allowed a Connect & Protect staff member to be hired to expand the services . The Connect & Protect team added that they reviewed several hundreds hours of body cam footage related to officers and those impacted by mental illness and in those interactions it appeared that simple suggestions , and more time and training of officers as a follow up would continue to grow their effectiveness .
The “ Connect & Protect ” project funded by a Department of Justice Federal Grant for one million dollars originally seed money moved to hire the Co Responder staff / social workers for 16 hours a day 5 days a week in a 2021 / 2022 three year grant .
Today co-responders stationed out of WOPD CSU partnered with officers , radios , and dispatch all redirected workflows to a more formal allegiance for police and co-responders to come together with a common denominator of support as one unified team . By inserting Connect & Protect staff into roll calls , they had to earn he respect of the 911 dispatchers to be activated and now consistently whenever cops and 911 get on scene with any mental health issue the co-responder goal to de-escalate successfully is the focus .
The Connect & Protect Co-responder project supervisor Achille Dejean sat down with me to describe this unique and innovative partnership . “ This work is important because it helps the community , especially those most vulnerable struggling with mental health related concerns . Our officers are highly skilled and trained to protect the community but that comes with high expectations . This partnership alleviates some of that pressure and allows for the joining of skill sets between officers and licensed mental health professionals . This ultimately results in the best possible response to mental health crisis in the community . What is most gratifying is being part of that joining of skill sets … being part of the solution .”
Some statistics about the Connect & Protect program this past fiscal year ( July 2022 — June 2023 ) include the following ; MHA Co-Responded to 183 calls with WOPD . 92 % of those calls were resolved ( appropriately de-escalated or linked to an appropriate level of care ) without incident , leaving just 8 % of calls resulting in involuntary transports to the hospital fro further evaluation . MHA provided 15 training events to officers this past year . Training focused on various mental
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