Good Morning,

"To all,
Just thought all might be interested in the fact that there is someplace
relatively close by that is in the planning stages of having the Crisis
Intervention Team, or CIT, training. This is a program developed by
Memphis a number of years ago [1987, apparently] to train a special team of law enforcement
personnel to be called when there is an event where law enforcement
personnel are involved with a person with mental illness. This is so-o-o
needed in our area and I am excited that there might be a possibility
that our local law enforcement officials might be able to receive this
training."

"Due to the training, CIT officers can, with confidence, offer a more humane and calm approach. These officers maintain a 24 hour, seven day a week coverage.

The CIT Model has been instrumental in offering:

1. Special trained officers to respond immediately to crisis calls
2. Ongoing training of CIT officers at no expense to the City of Memphis
3. Establishments of partnerships of police, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Memphis, mental health providers, and mental health consumers.

The Crisis Intervention Team program is a community effort enjoining both the police and the community together for common goals of safety, understanding, and service to the mentally ill and their families."

Learn more about the CIT model from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

"In case you missed it, buried toward the end of the last article from the
Asheville Citizen-Times on law enforcement shootings in Western North
Carolina was the news that A-B Tech (Asheville-Buncombe Technical
Community College) had started an initiative to introduce Crisis
Intervention Team training to area law enforcement officers. Considering
the Citizen-Times July 23 article [article is available for purchase. A quick search shows that there is discussion in the letters to the editor about the importance of starting CIT in Asheville, NC] calling for CIT, I had thought this would make a bigger "splash," but I supposed it's just as well to wade
into the CIT waters (from a publicity standpoint) rather than dive so as
to not to alienate anyone."