Commissioner Thomas was instrumental in the creation of Community Response Teams that pair a mental health professional with a specially trained law enforcement officer and are now available to support individuals suffering a mental health crisis.
Individuals in need of care are treated in place or transported to a facility, depending on their level of need. Despite dozens of deployments, to date CRTs have not taken a single subject to a jail or a hospital emergency room. The quality of life has been improved for not only the person in need of care, but their entire support team has found relief.
There are currently 9 Community Response Teams in place in Douglas County, in addition to the newly-created Youth Community Response team--a first-in-the-nation team specifically dedicated to children in school.
Commissioner Thomas continues to serve on the Steering Committee for this cutting-edge program, and anticipates next steps to include the development of a local network of providers which will bring needed care even closer to county residents in need.