VENICE — A $187,500 grant from Gulf Coast Community Foundation will fund a new mental health crisis response partnership between the Venice Police Department and Centerstone, a nonprofit mental health and substance use disorder treatment organization.
The pilot program, Behavioral Response and Community Engagement–Venice, or BRACE, will support the creation of a civilian-led response team to divert nonviolent, mental health-related 911 calls from law enforcement toward trained mental health professionals, a news release states.
BRACE will further the work of VPD’s Community Outreach Team, case manager Kasey Ledford and Sgt. Sean Hammett, who’s retiring next month…