Guidance Center agreement boosts emergency response

Beginning this year, individuals in crisis and their families may see a new face at the Leavenworth Police Department. Andrea Kesler is not a police officer, but a mental health professional who will assist police on calls, in crisis response training of staff and community members in need connect to services. She is the first Mental Health CoResponder in the City of Leavenworth, funded through national opioid settlement funding given to local governments. Kesler is an employee of The Guidance Center, a community based, non-profit agency that serves as the local Community Mental Health Center for Leavenworth.

Andrea Kesler (center) pictured with Leavenworth Police Officers preparing for a patrol shift. Kesler is the new Mental Health CoResponder and can deploy with police officers to assist in situations in which someone experienced in social work and mental healthcare is needed.

Police Chief Pat Kitchens said the grant supports salary and benefits for the position. "Items she will focus on that we believe will have a real fundamental impact are her familiarity with assisting a person suffering from mental health issues and co-issues, such as homelessness, substance abuse and lack of financial resources. She'll be a resource to us in that regard," Kitchens said.

Kesler has her bachelor's and master's degrees from Park University and is a licensed master social worker. She worked at a similar position with the Kansas City Kansas Police Department for four years while employed with Wyandot Behavioral Health Network in a similar arrangement. She's also had experience with the Kansas Supportive Housing Offender Program to assist people who are getting out of prison with services. Kesler is prepared to respond with officers on a service call that has a person in crisis, which is a person who is making threats of suicide or harming themselves or other people.

"She's a deployable resource and can guide through interactions with a person that might be less intimidated by a person not in uniform," Kitchens said.

Kesler is able to follow up with the person and family to get them to resources to prevent future incidents.

Kesler might follow up by helping someone who having a substance abuse crisis find care at The Guiding Lights Stabilization Center or helping connect a person with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder to the right resources.

Kesler also has more advanced experience doing crisis intervention training, and plans to begin teaching all Leavenworth Police Department officers about de-escalation training and how to assist a person having a mental health crisis.

Kesler and Police Department staff are working out some procedures and policies and hope to enrich the program as it continues.

Kesler also plans to reach out to various human service agencies throughout the Leavenworth area so that she can help prevent individuals who need varying degrees of community support.

Helpful information for callers to share with 911 emergency dispatch about individuals in crisis:

- If the person has a history of mental health

- If they have a history of substance abuse

- If they are on medication to aid with behavioral health or are not taking it

- If they have a case manager or social worker

- If they are making threats to harm themselves or others

A nationwide hotline is available at "988" as the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.