CHEYENNE, Wyo.— The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is granting nearly $2.4 million to the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police (WASCOP) to help officers across the state’s rural and frontier landscape provide Wyoming residents in crisis with 24/7 access to behavioral health professionals via telehealth.
Virtual Crisis Care equips Wyoming law enforcement officers with tablets, allowing them to call on trained experts to de-escalate, assess, and stabilize individuals in a mental health crisis such as suicidal ideation, self-harm, or depression. The pilot program is modeled after similar Helmsley-funded efforts in South Dakota and Nevada, where more than 80 percent of encounters result in the person staying in place with plans for local follow-up care, said Walter Panzirer, a Trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust.
“Connecting law enforcement officers and behavioral health professionals is instrumental in providing top-notch care on scene, while reducing unnecessary trips to emergency rooms, mental health hospitals, and jails,” Panzirer said. “We’re excited to help bring this innovative program to Wyoming and improve rural and frontier residents’ access to vital mental health resources.”
Wyoming’s population of nearly 588,000 is spread over more than 97,000 square miles, providing unique challenges for a coordinated behavioral health crisis-care response across the state. Virtual Crisis Care, which is launching in a handful of counties with plans to expand statewide where needed, will ensure that Wyoming’s most remote residents receive necessary and timely behavioral health care.
“The Helmsley Charitable Trust is an extraordinary friend and active partner to Wyoming,” said Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon. “I thank them for recognizing that our law enforcement officers regularly face individuals suffering mental health crises, often in remote locations without easy access to crisis care professionals. This grant will fund a critical tool that allows these officers to access professional mental health resources quickly while on scene, while also providing crucial follow up care, a key element of the program. This is an innovative opportunity to help those in crisis access the care they need and reduce the impact on both law enforcement and our healthcare facilities.
When someone experiencing or witnessing a mental health crisis in a rural or frontier county calls 911, law enforcement is typically the first to respond. Yet officers and deputies aren’t always provided the training to resolve these encounters in a timely and effective manner.
Using Virtual Crisis Care, an officer can connect someone in crisis to a professional who is trained in de-escalating crises, can assess safety concerns, and can link the individual to local follow-up care. Providing officers with this additional tool can reduce the need for jail or involuntary hospitalization, both of which can burden county resources, said WASCOP Executive Director Allen Thompson.
“We’re excited to add another valuable tool to support our members as they increasingly serve individuals experiencing mental health crises,” Thompson said. “Thanks to this generous grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, we can empower the men and women in law enforcement by providing a mobile and immediate connection to the next level of care.”
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About the Helmsley Charitable Trust
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting exceptional efforts in the U.S. and around the world in health and select place-based initiatives. Since beginning active grantmaking in 2008, Helmsley has committed more than $4.5 billion for a wide range of charitable purposes. Helmsley’s Rural Healthcare Program funds innovative projects that use information technologies to connect rural patients to emergency medical care, bring the latest medical therapies to patients in remote areas, and provide state-of-the-art training for rural hospitals and EMS personnel. To date, this program has awarded more than $800 million to organizations and initiatives in the states of Hawai‘i, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and two U.S. Pacific territories, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. For more information, visit www.helmsleytrust.org.
About the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police (WASCOP)
The Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police (WASCOP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing public safety through education, collaboration, and service. Its primary mission is to support its membership — Wyoming’s law enforcement agencies — through high-quality training programs and strategic partnerships with the private sector, and local, state, and federal agencies. At its core, WASCOP is committed to fostering a unified, informed, and effective law enforcement community across the state to deliver exceptional service to both citizens and visitors.
