Cook County Sheriff’s office hitting front lines of mental health treatment in River North, downtown – CBS Chicago

By Tara Molina

June 15, 2022 / 6:32 PM / CBS Chicago

Sheriff's Treatment Response Team hitting the front lines in mental health treatment

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Have you noticed more Cook County Sheriff's officers and cruisers across Chicago? There's a reason for it.

Only on 2, we are getting a firsthand look at the street outreach work the sheriff's office is doing downtown.

CBS 2's Tara Molina walked the city with the Treatment Response Team (TRT) on Wednesday. The team focuses on connecting people on the street with resources.

It's a proactive policing effort amid rising crime across the downtown area. The sheriff's office has teams of police and clinicians responding to issues when they need to from their new command post in the River North neighborhood, or walking the neighborhood and meeting people where they are.

"A lot of clinicians aren't on the ground like we are, actually," said sheriff's office clinician Patrick Kelley.

Rain, sun, cool, or heat; the crew dubbed the Treatment Response Team is downtown, walking the neighborhood doing street outreach.

"A lot of the individuals we work with don't have phones, don't have addresses, so really the only way we can contact them is continuing to be out here, and providing that support and assistance," Kelley said.

Kelley has a background in criminal justice and mental health counseling. He's not a police officer, he's a therapist.

A team of therapists and police officers began working together in River North just a couple months ago.

"When they're is in crisis, they need someone to talk to, and what better person for them to talk to than a therapist?" Kelley said.

The difference? They keep those conversations going after responding to an incident or crime; and, when they hit the pavement three days a week, they make sure to talk to people consistently seen on the street.

They offer help for those struggling with homelessness, mental health issues, or substance abuse problems. They're positioned to connect them with housing and treatment options.

"This is all about being on the front end of things," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said.

More than half of the people in the Cook County Jail have mental health problems, according to Dart.

He said this work isn't just about working to change that, and get people the help they need, but to prevent it from going that far in the first place.

"If we get to them now, they're not going to be there maybe robbing somebody because they need to feed their habit. They're not going to be stealing something out of a store because they lost their job," he said.

Dart said they're working in the River North and downtown areas, because "We've never seen greater needs ever."

"It's not even a close call," he said. "I was down here walking the area and it was so overwhelming- the need to address mental health and homeless and substance abuse. Block after block we came across someone who was suffering."

Dart said the program is a proactive effort to prevent issues we've seen boil over downtown in the past.

"For folks that are having a mental health issue and a substance abuse issue, they co-occur all the time, a minor interaction with someone who is not doing well at that moment escalates really quickly. What was maybe someone asking for a handout of some nature can lead to a physical confrontation. Things go off the rails in a hurry," he said.

The Treatment Response Team is here to stay.

"We're gonna do what we can to help," Kelley said.

Last week, the team engaged with 17 people during their outreach, distributed 5 Narcan kits for treating opioid overdoses, and met with six businesses. Two people from that week are actively engaged with the team's staff for assistance with mental health or substance use.

Overall, the team is currently engaged with more than 200 clients, including people receiving services through a "virtual co-responder program," which allows officers on the scene to contact a TRT clinician using a tablet or smartphone to help someone in crisis.

Tara Molina is a general assignment reporter for CBS2 Chicago.

First published on June 15, 2022 / 6:18 PM

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Cook County Sheriff's office hitting front lines of mental health treatment in River North, downtown - CBS Chicago