Eastpointe helps train Lenoir County law enforcement to better serve citizens with behavioral health challenges
BEULAVILLE, NC – July 28, 2021
On July 23, Eastpointe, and its community partners completed Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for 15 officers from the Kinston Police Department and the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office. The training was held at Lenoir Community College.
CIT training helps first responders better recognize citizens dealing with a mental health challenge or an intellectual or developmental disability. It teaches them how to de-escalate stressful situations and ensures they can connect those in crisis with the resources and healthcare they need. As the mental health challenges created by COVID continue to grow for area residents, so too is the need for this training.
Kinston Police Department Sgt. Brandon Wells, who helped facilitate the training, said that after graduation officers leave “with a new perspective and knowledge that [they] will carry with them into the field in order to gain new trust from our communities.”
This week-long training includes role-playing scenarios first responders may encounter in the field and roundtable discussions with citizens with behavioral health challenges. The goal of these techniques is to learn to respond with empathy after recognizing a behavioral health issue.
Kinston Police Detective Trevor Normile noted that “every person in America is affected in some way by behavioral health, either personally or someone they care about. This training helps officers develop advanced techniques that help keep these citizens—and themselves—safe.”
Eastpointe’s Chief of Regulations and Compliance, Theresa Edmondson, noted that “a big part of our role as an LME-MCO is to educate our communities on behavioral health issues so they can provide a safe, supportive environment for our members. The partnerships we’ve built with first responders, especially in Lenoir County, have been critical in that effort.”
Since it began coordinating CIT training sessions in 2008, Eastpoint and its partners have trained 62 first responders in Lenoir County.
