The Athens Crisis Intervention Team program was honored as Ohio’s best on May 9 by the Ohio Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program teaches law enforcement officers how to handle situations with people who have mental health disorders, said Betsy Johnson, associate executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Ohio.

“The goal is to get these people to a hospital for help rather than jail, where treatment isn’t always available,” she said.
Officers complete 40 hours of training and learn to approach mentally ill people in a less confrontational way, Johnson said.

The Athens CIT program includes officers from the Ohio University Police Department, Athens County Sheriffs Office and Athens Police Department, said Athens Police Chief Rick Mayer.

“I’m very happy with the award and the results of CIT, which is why I’ve continued to send officers through training for the past three years,” he said.

Athens area police officers voluntarily participate in the CIT program and are paid overtime while training, Mayer said.

The Ohio chapter of NAMI presented the CIT program of the year award for the first time this year to get other parts of Ohio interested in starting their own programs, said CIT International President Mike Woody. Nearly 3,000 law enforcement officers are trained in CIT, and 61 counties in Ohio have CIT programs since it came to Ohio in 2000, he added.

The 75 CIT coordinators across Ohio chose the winner based on nominations Woody received earlier this year.
Woody said he is pleased with Athens’ commitment to the CIT program.

“Athens is definitely the best of the best and we hope other counties will be inspired by their dedication to start a CIT program,” he said.