On July 1, 2018, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office launched a five-year grant funded Behavioral Health Connect Program, also known as BHCON (pronounced Beacon). The program pairs an El Paso County Sheriff’s Deputy with a Licensed Behavioral Health Clinician from UCHealth’s Memorial Hospital. The unit responds to emergency calls for service determined to have a behavioral health issue as a primary factor.
The goal of the two-person BHCON Unit is to prevent unnecessary incarceration and/or hospitalization of individuals with mental illness. They accomplish this by providing crisis intervention and linking individuals to community programs that can support and sustain their mental health. The unit also allows the return of law enforcement units to patrol activities and emergency units back into rotation.
The BHCON Unit quarterly statistics from July 1 – September 30, 2018 are:
• Responded to 122 calls for service
• Provided services to 100 clients
• Attempted 33 follow-ups with clients
• Approximately 71% of calls were initiated by family members or friends requesting welfare check of loved one
• Average age of clients was 35 years old with 66% being between the age of 18 and 64
• 24% of clients were treated on scene and provided mental health resources
• 22% of clients were transferred to a local medical facility
• 15% of clients were transported to a walk-in center
• 2% of clients were transported to the Detox Center
• 2% of clients were arrested
Sheriff Bill Elder is committed to addressing the mental health needs of the community by participating in the BHCON program and providing Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training and Crisis Intervention training to EPSO deputies to prepare them to respond and interact with this segment of our population.
We would like to thank our partners with UCHealth Memorial Hospital and Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) for their continued support and collaboration. Attached photo credit to the Colorado Springs Gazette.
