In Lakewood, there is a push to get more co-responders on the streets. They are trained mental health professionals who go with police officers to calls offering their expertise when someone in Colorado is in crisis.
“Sometimes our patrol agents will call and ask for us,” said Susie Newby, one of two co-responders dedicated to the Lakewood Police Department.
And every response is different.
“With juveniles, Ben has a lot of experience working with them so we prefer him to go on those calls. Susie is really good at de-escalating,” her partner, a Lakewood agent, said.
But for both, the goal is always the same.
“How can we best help this person? What is the best way to go about this,” the agent said.
After years of working side-by-side, the agents have come to rely on the help of those of trained co-responders.
“I am not a police officer. A lot of the time I have to say that with our clients,” Newby said. “I am a licensed clinical social worker I have always had a passion for just crisis work.”