COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — The College Station Police Department has developed a specialized unit to address the city's growing mental health crisis, but officials say more resources are needed locally.
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The Crisis Assessment Response Engagement (CARE) team is a specialized unit within the College Station Police Department that responds to calls involving emotional distress. The team ensures residents receive de-escalation and support rather than just a traditional police response.
"We have a large and growing community with a lot of demand for mental health consumers, so it would be really nice if we had that here locally," said Chief Billy Couch.
However, there is no facility in College Station for in-patient care, so patients must be transported to Houston for treatment.
"What would it take, you know, to bring back a mental health facility to help our community members here locally?" Couch said.
The CARE team was formed two years ago to address the growing issue of mental health in the community on the front line.
"It's a collective problem we all work toward, but in the end, the first immediate calls typically come into a dispatch center and those dispatchers look for a resource, and their first resource is a police officer," Couch said.
Local resident Valen Supak praised the program, particularly given the area's veteran population.
"Having the ability to know that law enforcement has tools and that may be your last resort, that's a huge deal, especially when you add that we have a huge veteran population here and you know right now in the statistics about 33 veterans a day kill themselves by suicide," Supak said. "People should know that these options exist and that these services exist and that they're there to be helpful."
Officials say the community response has been positive since the full-time unit launched.
"Well, since we started the full-time unit a couple of years ago, we're getting a real quality feedback, not just from a mental health consumer, but the family saying, I didn't know this was available to me. I didn't know that you guys did this," Couch said.
Supak, who has personal experience with the service, encourages others not to hesitate in seeking help.
"Don't be afraid to call for a wellness check on someone if you're concerned. I've had someone do it for me because something I said, obviously, in that moment, I was doing just fine and it was just a miscommunication, but the police showed up, they did their job and they did their job well," Supak said.
City Council will continue discussing the feasibility of an in-patient facility in the future.
Local resources for help with mental health issues include:
- The MHMR 24/7 Crisis Hotline: 1-888-522-8262
- The National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Just dial 9-8-8
- NAMI Brazos Valley: Offers free support groups for families and peers at https://namibv.org/
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