Police Project

 

Overview of the Project


Phase 1: 2005
With funding from B.C. Mental Health and Addiction Services (Provincial Health Services Authority) and the Vancouver Foundation, CMHA BC in 2005 worked with CMHA branches in six BC communities to identify areas for improvements in the link between police and mental health services and systems. The six communities in phase I were: Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, Nanaimo, Williams Lake, and Cranbrook. We called the project Building Capacity: Mental Health and Police Project (BC:MHAPP).

The project took place over a period of 6 months during 2005. In each community, a local coordinator worked part-time to develop a committee of key community parties to collaborate on a plan to resolve issues in police/first responder interaction with persons with mental illness. The key community parties on these committees included:



  • people with mental illness
  • family members
  • police
  • ambulance service personnel
  • mental health and addictions professionals
  • hospitals
  • community organizations serving the needs of persons with mental illness

 

Each steering committee began work on community reports, maps and action plans. As a seeding project, committees were expected to continue work together after the project formally ended to achieve the action plan items. The committee also made recommendations for systematic change on a regional and provincial level, to address issues which could not be remedied by local action alone. These recommendations were brought to a provincial advisory committee at the conclusion of the project.

 

Phase 1 Final Reports:

  1. Report of provincial activities during the project
    (94 Kb PDF)
  2. Report of issues, actions and recommendations
    (148 Kb PDF)

 

Phase 2: 2006/07
BC Mental Health and Addiction Services, Provincial Health Services Authority generously provided funding to build on Phase I BC:MHAPP. Phase II has four components:

  • Development of the MHAP project with CMHA branches in three additional communities: Prince George, Salmon Arm and Kelowna. These community projects wrapped up in June 2007.
  • An external evaluation Phase I of the BC:MHAP project, directed by Dr. Marina Morrow from SFU's Faculty of Health Sciences. The evaluation final report (144 KB PDF) is now available.
  • Four of the original six BC:MHAPP sites received funding to complete follow up activities identified in their 2005 action plans. These Community Follow-up projects are described more fully below, and reports on these projects will be posted as they complete.

     

     

Community Reports, Maps and Action Plans

Each community developed a community map and report on services for people in mental health crisis. The action plan is the framework for resolving these issues to improve the interactions between police/first responders and persons with mental illness. See the map and action plan for each community below.

 

 

Community Follow-Up Projects

Four of the original six BC:MHAPP sites submitted proposals for funding to fulfill activities indentified in their action plans from 2005. These proposals include development of a video to familiarize persons with mental illness, first responders, and others with the mental health resources within the community (Williams Lake); development of benchmarks and a detailed plan for collaborative completion of 28 of 44 short and long term goals (Vancouver); development of an information system for first responders to identify and assist persons with mental health issues (Cranbrook); and development/performance of a play and ancillary information to improve relationships and understanding between the Chinese community and the local police agency (Richmond). These projects will complete between May and September 2007, and the reports will be made available as they are completed.

 

Guide to Developing a Similar Project in your Community

Throughout the course of both Phases I and II of the project, the coordinators and participants learned many lessons about how to achieve their objectives effectively, and how to build on and adapt to the unique aspects of their communities to achieve the best results. These experiences, supplemented by the findings of the external evaluation of Phase I are reflected in a guide for other communities which may wish to develop a project or committee in their own community. Written in plain and clear language, this guide (621 Kb PDF) takes you from the initial concept through the development of a committee, meetings to create the community map, identify issues, and develop a meaningful and achievable action plan.

 

 

Fact Sheets

These 2-page information sheets were developed for general use by: police, public, people with mental illness and family members, paramedics, etc. They are written in a simple, direct format, outlining common issues related to police interactions with people with mental illness. We would like to acknowledge gaming revenue from the provincial government which supported the development and initial printing of these materials.

 

CMHA BC Division newsletter