Every day of the year a call will come in to the Port Arthur Police Department regarding a person with a mental illness.

The call could be from a family member or a friend of the person in crisis; and now the police department is better situated to handle such calls with the newly launched Mental Health Program.

“The purpose is to build a relationship with community members affected by mental illness, either themselves or a family member,” Sgt. Heather Rowe, who is leading the program, said. “And now we have this program where we can guide them to the right services they need.”

Currently there are seven officers besides Rowe who are certified mental health officers and five more are going to be certified in August and, as staffing at the department increases, the number of program members will likely increase in numbers.

“This is one of the things I wanted implemented when I was hired, to have an officer to respond to mental health issues because some of the things we deal with are more related to mental health than a criminal situation,” Port Arthur Police Chief Tim Duriso said.

The goal is to have a specially trained officer on every shift allowing the department to not only respond but also have a quicker response when faced with that situation.”

Rowe said some of the bigger departments such as Houston and Dallas implemented Mental Health Units years ago and officials started to realize there is a need to utilize those ideas in the community here.

PAPD is partnering with the Spindletop Center, which provides a number of services.

Having certified Mental Health Officers on various shifts is a plus and when asked how important the program is, Rowe answered with one word — “priceless” and Duriso echoed the sentiment; adding the importance of having an officer who is familiar with the specific person and recognizing the situation.

The program

Officers in the Mental Health Program will handle a call and Rowe will follow-up, so to speak, and see what services can be provided and Rowe may also handle call herself.

“Most of the people we deal with in the mental health community we will deal with again,” she said. “And the best thing is to build that rapport in lieu of having a different officer each time.”

Services, she added, won’t end with the initial phone call.

She is both realistic and optimistic.

“We are not going to help everyone referred to us but we will try to do whatever we can whether refer them to certain programs, to help them get to appointment, to get their meds, but that will take work on that person’s part to take an active role in stabilizing their illness,” she said. “We can’t make someone take their meds, we can’t make someone go to appointments but we can be there to point them in the right direction.”

Persons with questions about the Mental Health Program can call Rowe at 409-983-8676 or email to healther.rowe@portathurtx.gov

You can complete a mental health referral form and Sgt. Rowe will followup with you.

The form can be found on the city’s website at www.portarthurtx.gov, scroll to departments then Port Arthur Police Department, then Mental Health Unit.