The Paint Valley Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board has announced the graduation of the 2016 Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). This training is designed for law enforcement officers and first responders to improve responses to situations involving someone with a mental illness or developmental disability.
On Friday, May 6, the weeklong (40 hour) training concluded and this year’s graduates include: Patrolman Shawn Shanks, Greenfield Police Department; Deputy Rob Davis, Highland County Sheriff’s Office; and Deputy Mike Turner, Highland County Sheriff’s Office.
The Paint Valley ADAMH Board has provided CIT training to a total of 106 officers or first responders in its five-county board region. Fayette County has two CIT officers, Highland County has 20 CIT officers, Pickaway County has 19 CIT officers, Pike County has seven CIT officers and Ross County has 55 CIT officers.
Juni Johnson, executive director of the Paint Valley ADAMH Board, said, “It is very important to assure that we have trained officers in our board region, not only for the safety of our officers, but also for our communities. We are really excited to be continuing to make this training available and have plans to provide training next year.”
The CIT Planning Committee is comprised of mental health providers, law enforcement officers and Veterans Administration professionals that worked together to develop a local CIT training. This training is funded by The Paint Valley ADAMH Board with a contribution from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Ohio.
The Paint Valley ADAMH Board would like to thank the Circleville Fire Department for allowing the use of its training room and Sun Room Catering of Frankfort for preparing meals for the officers during this week of training.
The Paint Valley ADAMH Board was created in 1967 to ensure the availability of community-based alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services for the residents of Fayette, Highland, Pickaway, Pike and Ross counties. For more information, call the Paint Valley ADAMH Board at 740-773-2283.
Submitted by Melinda Sheets, Paint Valley ADAMH public affairs coordinator.
