Reference: Colorado DOLA Grant Application-Peace Officer's Mental Health Support
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Doug Imfeld, Peer Support Team Coordinator Brighton PD
Date Prepared: December 29, 2021
PURPOSE
To request approval of the application to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Peace Officer's Mental Health Support Grant.
STRATEGIC FOCUS AREA
Safe, Active and Engaged Community
BACKGROUND
Colorado Department of Local Affairs has made available funding in 2022 for the purpose of Peace Officer's Mental Health Support. The funds can be used to
* provide co-responder and community based alternative responses to support peace officer's handling of persons with mental health disorders and those in crisis;
* counseling services for peace officers and their immediate family members;
* assistance for development and implementation of policies to support peace officers who are involved in shootings or fatal use of force;
* training and education programs that teach peace officers and their immediate family members the symptoms of job-related mental trauma and how to prevent and treat such trauma;
* peer support programs for peace officers.
Grants are approved on a first-come first-serve basis and funds are awarded until exhausted. This is an annual grant program funded by DOLA.
The department was awarded $50,000.00 in grant funds for use between August 2019 and December 2020. The department spent $25,463.76 of the $50,000.00. The use of the funds supported 150 mental health provider office visits, 50 alternative wellness office visits, 8 department peer support and wellness webinars/trainings, 5 critical incident debriefs.as well as peer support team supervision by a licensed clinician. Some of the initiatives which would have been completed with these funds were unable to be completed.
In 2021 the department again applied for grant funds and was awarded $10,000.00 for us...
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