DCITA Inaugural

DCITA information

Episode Transcript

(00:03):
Hey everyone, Welcome to the inauguralDuPage Crisis Intervention Team Association Podcast. My
name is Mike Drugen and I willbe your host. First and foremost.
The DCIA is a standalone entity anddoes not represent any specific governmental agency.
The DCA is sponsored by Drug AssociatesLLC and exists only to share information regarding

(00:27):
de escalation and mental health awareness forfirst responders, focusing on the geographical region
of DuPage County, Illinois. Wedefine first responders as those involved in law
enforcement, corrections, dispatchers, communityservice officers, animal control officers, security
professionals, mental health professionals, anyonethat deals with mental health emergency situations on

(00:53):
a day to day basis. Thereis no cost to join the DCIA.
The DCIA will provide to its membersa quarterly e update magazine email format that
shares current de escalation material with allfirst responders. We hope to release a
new podcast every other month, andwe also will share via information via several

(01:19):
social media outlets. Right now,we have the Facebook page, so if
you're a Facebook member, you canjust search for DO page C I TA
and it will bring you to ourFacebook page. We also have our own
website The website is member only,so we'll talk a little bit more about

(01:42):
that at the end of this podcast, but there's no cost to join.
The reason it's members only is sothat we can keep the information to first
responders and control who's seeing the informationon their website. We're going to be
putting together a YouTube channel, andas I said, we had the podcast
up and running here. So alittle background on why the DCIA was even

(02:07):
started. We created it to bringall c T officers within Due Page together
and create a team approach on howwe offer services to those in need.
Sharing information and techniques. It's importantto make us better first responders, and
sharing a wellness and resilience information isjust as important. I'm excited to reignite

(02:29):
the fire of the DCIA and collaboratewith each and every one of you.
But it takes all of us tomake this organization function. So I'm going
to ask here and I'm going toask more times in the future. Please
step up. I know we're allbusy and there's so many things to do,
but if there's a way that youcan contribute to the DCA, we

(02:50):
would appreciate it. We can't doit alone. We want to get out
information. We want to keep allthese different social media outlets going, but
it is impossible for just one personor four people to do. So it's
as little or much time as youcan donate. There's no hard set rule
on how much you have to putin. If there's anything that you're interested

(03:13):
in doing, If you like towrite and you want to write some articles,
let us know. If you're wantingto highlight what your agency is doing
and some of the great things thatyou're doing, again, share it,
let us know, bring it tothe agency. The agency. We work
together here and we can put allof this information together and we will all
be better for it. So youknow, many hands make light work.

(03:37):
Okay, moving forward to one ofthe big points we want to talk about
is how de escalation is being acceptedin the county. I could tell you
that having trained or having been apart of the training of over a thousand
police officers and deputy sheriff's into page, I love the infectious attitude that I'm

(03:58):
seeing in class. The officers anddeputies come in. They are engaged,
they want to soak up the information, They ask great questions. They are
so dedicated. You can tell whenit comes to the role plays. If
you if you've taken the class,you know what I'm talking about. The
role plays are a pretty serious event. And again over a thousand officers and

(04:21):
it's just it gets better every singleclass. You are all an incredible asset
to the towns in the county thatyou represent. So I am I am
so proud that the energy and thedesire to be better is there as we
go forward with the escalation, Ithink a lot of folks are getting better

(04:46):
at it and coming out of theirshells a little bit and more apt to
show that empathy that we talk somuch. You know, de escalation a
lot of times is being used likea verb. I think it's more of
a noun. We don't d escalatepeople against their will. Rather, we
use the de escalation process to calmand assist them in using their coping mechanisms

(05:08):
to regain their control. We don'tdo it to them like we handcuff someone,
or we fingerprints someone, or wetase someone. You just don't tell
someone hey, i'm the police departmentand you're de escalated and they go,
oh wow, thank you, I'mgood. Now the person that we're engaging
with must participate in that process.In order for it to work. They

(05:31):
have to be open to listen tous and understand that we are there to
help them, but it just isn'tsome antics. Often when a de escalatition
event fails, the critics will saythat the police officers failed because mere talking
didn't work and the use of forcecame into the situation. Well, critics
must understand that the person we aredealing with must be a willing partner in

(05:56):
the process. Now, we knowsome people that we are all to help
are unable to be a part ofthe process. There may be mental health
or diminished capacity involved in which theperson is unable at the time of the
call to either understand or possibly acceptthe help. We must remember, as
first responders that this is a process. We don't fix anyone, and we

(06:18):
definitely don't fix the situation in one, two, or even ten calls.
Consistency in our response is paramount,always expressing empathy and never judgment. It's
easy to get frustrated, folks,where human beings. That's understandable. The
biggest thing to remember is the personwith the mental health situation or diagnosis is

(06:45):
way more frustrated than we are.It's harder for them. And remember,
we're just trying to help. Soevery time we meet with those folks,
we must be professional, empathetic andtruly seeking to help, so that the
next time, because unfortunately they're morethan likely will be another time that we
contact have contact with them, we'veestablished a base of professional empathy and they'll

(07:12):
remember that and they realize that alllaw enforcement wants to help and that's our
number one goal. So I thinkthat's great. Back in December of last
year, Congress came together and passeda bill, a c I T Bill,
and it allowed Moneys to go outto the eighteen thousand law enforcement agencies

(07:33):
throughout the country. It's a greatplan, and obviously money is what drives
training because training costs money. Soit's difficult. We're blessed in DuPage County
to have the c training that wehave in the d escalation. A lot
of areas in the state and thecountry for that matter, don't have the

(07:53):
access and they are really trying toget it. So the hope is that
this money will help those agencies thataren't as blessed as we are. It's
a great training, but I thinkthere's always a give and take when it
comes to the training. And there'sa quote in this article by Elizabeth Hanco.
She is the director of research forthe Treatment Advocacy Center, and she

(08:18):
wrote this report, and she specificallywas quoted about this these funds that Congress
released, and her quote is this, you can provide as much training and
de escalation funds for the programs asyou want, but it doesn't necessarily solve
a lot of the problems associated withrisk of death for people with severe mental
illness at the hands of law enforcement. She went on to say, I

(08:43):
do think that this is a stepin the right direction, but until we
prevent some of the kinds of encountersbetween people with mental illness and police from
happening in the first place, wehave a long way to go. And
in some ways I agree with her. In some ways I don't. I
don't know her at all other thanthe article that I read about her,
so I don't know if she isan advocate or an ally of law enforcement.

(09:07):
But I do agree that we can'tdo it alone. For too long,
we have been stuck. And weI say first responders in general law
enforcement, I think more specifically thanall the others to handle if you will,
mental health calls and handle it andnever be wrong, always be perfect,

(09:28):
and that's impossible. That is nota fair spot to put law enforcement
into. Even with CI T training, even with advanced CI training, it's
still not enough training. It's notfair to those first responders and those of
you that have handled these calls.You know exactly what I'm saying. So
I think there has to be aconnection there and a partnership. I think

(09:52):
mental health professionals need to come onboard a lot more in these calls,
and I think they need to handlea lot of these calls once law enforcement
has deemed there's not an immediate threatie a weapon, you know, someone
alleging suicidal audiation and they're saying they'regoing to use a firearm or a sore

(10:15):
or something along those lines. Soit's important that we remember it's a partnership
and we do have every right tocall out those mental health entities and say
come with us and help us.We are not looking to do this alone.
We can't do it alone. Wedesperately need your help. So I'm
hoping that that does change the waythings work and really bring that collaboration between

(10:39):
law enforcement I'm sorry law enforcement,but first responders in general and the mental
health providers, and there are stepsbeing taken for that. I know the
health departments working really hard at bridgingthat gap, and I think we're going
to see some new things. There'sthe development of the CRC, which will

(11:00):
be an alternative to hospitals for thoseexperience experiencing mental health symptoms, and we'll
talk more about that in a futureprogram. We're going to have somebody from
the Health Department come on a podcastand speak specifically about that. But there
are some really big things coming inDuPage County that are going to help us
first responders, help those with mentalhealth diagnosis. So be ready, folks,

(11:28):
hold on your hats. It's goingto be a pretty fun time.
I want to talk about a resourcelist. Those that attend the DuPage County
Sheriff ci T program are given aPDF resource list of the things that we
talked about in class. That PDFis available to any member that would want

(11:48):
it. All you would need todo is email us at DuPage dci TA
at gmail dot com and I cansend you that PDF by the same token.
I'm telling you right up front thatPDF does not encompass every single resource,
So I need your help on that. Those of you in the municipalities

(12:09):
that maybe have resources that I clearlydon't know about, please email me those.
I will incorporate that into the thePDF and we will update it and
we will send that out to everybodyas well. Through the organization. We're
going to be sending out a newsletter, and that newsletters in an electronic format
so we can we will email thatto you, and that's basically articles that

(12:33):
we've seen either from across the countryor specific to the county. We're de
escalation and c I T techniques.We're also including wellness and resilience information as
part of the DCIA because we allknow you can't pour from an empty cup,
and you first responders are under suchincredible stress nowadays. We really need

(12:54):
to do better at taking care ofnot only ourselves but our brothers and sisters.
So we're going to focus on that. But the newsletter will have all
that information. Again, if anyone'sinterested in and becoming a contributor to that,
if you want to write something aboutyour agency. What I really like
to hear from is members that wenton a call and had a good or

(13:16):
bad for that manner. Information thatyou handled the call on the call and
went well or the call didn't andwhy sharing that with all of us lets
us know that we're not alone.We all struggle and we all succeed.
So anything that you want to sendagain is at du page DCIA at gmail

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dot com. Obviously, your emailaddresses will not be shared with anyone outside
of the DCIA group. There isI said it earlier, there's a DCA
Facebook page away for you all toIf you're a Facebook person, get on
there and we will share information thereas well. You can simply search for

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the page or go directly to it. While we're talking about resources, I
really want to focus on Namidu Pagein this particular podcast. I think one
of the biggest resources in du pagecontinues to be Namidu Page. I implore
all of you to ensure that youragency is aware of what Namidu Page offers.
Their peer approach is so important tothe advancement and betterment of your residence.

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Remember, it never competes with anyprograms you'r agen. The same may
have in place if you have asocial services coordinator, if you have a
social worker that is reaching out toyour families. That is awesome. You
are blessed to have that. Butremember that Namidu Page never competes, It
only compliments. So what Nami doesis what no one else does. NAMI

(14:45):
is again the peer driven, Soit's people that are struggling with their mental
health at the time. They cancome talk to people at Namidu Page through
the programs or through the advocates there. And these are folks are living on
mental health diagnosis themselves. They're justfurther along in the process. So they're

(15:05):
able to sit down with these folksthat are struggling and say, hey,
I've been there personally, here's howI got through it. Let's make it
better for you. And it's justa phenomenal organization. There's generally no fees
and the fees are a sliding scale. The fees are so low they'll never
turn away anyone. So if youhave a family or a particular individual that

(15:30):
is struggling, namide Page again aphenomenal resource. They have programs for the
family, for the individual. It'sa great situation and program. They have
something called the living Room in whichyou can bring individuals that are just having
a rough day, maybe they're ampedup, there's different things going on in

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their lives and they're having a hardtime bringing it down. You can take
them over there and they can sitand again talk with a peer in a
calm environment, not a sterile hospital, just a clean, relaxed environment,
and they can talk through their issueswith someone that's been there as well.
So if you're interested, you cancontact namide Page directly. They will come

(16:15):
out and do a roll call foryour agency, then come out and meet
with your agency and let you knowexactly what they offer. And again,
it's a it's a resource that ifyou are not utilizing it, you are
cutting yourself short and you are notdoing your residence a proper service. So
please please again, if you're notaware of Namidu Page, let us know

(16:38):
and we'll get you any and allinformation. So we're going to have a
resource spotlight and every podcast. Andhere's one I'm talking about. It's called
Lighthouse Health and Wellness. Now fulldisclosure, I am a minor partner in
Lighthouse Health and Wellness. So thereare other wellness programs available, and I

(17:00):
urge you to do your research priorto choosing an entity, and there's you
do your own homework is what I'mtrying to get at, but this is
the wellness and resilience portion. Sothe reason I'm focusing on wellness and resilience
is I don't think we're doing agood enough job in our agencies. There

(17:21):
are some agencies that are really workinghard at it, and there are some
that are far behind the curve.But we can always do more and we
can always do better. So LighthouseHealth and Wellness is an in hand,
on demand, one percent confidential healthand wellness platform available at no cost to
our nation's public safety agencies. Lighthousewas designed to provide employees and their families

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anonymous access to your agencies existing healthand wellness programs, in addition to a
growing library of the latest educational healthand wellness information and tools that have been
tailored to the unique needs of thoseworking in public safety. It's built on
the Apex mobile platform and it isaccessible via the web and iOS and Android

(18:06):
applications, and we provide twenty fourseven access to resources to help public safety
officers thrive. Beyond our technology platform, we also offer custom wellness programming and
support plans to help agencies meet theneeds of their personnel. The strategy and
development of Our programming and support plansare specifically tailored to each agency's needs and

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include on site support, coordinating andspeaking engagements, developing enrichment materials, peer
support, team training, scholarship,funding for wellness conferences or retreats, and
more. We're excited and ready tohelp agencies connect their staff with the best
health and wellness resources available. Asthe Lighthouse Health and Wellness community grows,

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we pledge to foster the discovery,development and distribution of health and wellness tools,
information and initiatives that address the uniquechallenges faced by first responders and all
those who support them. We know, with the overwhelming rise in job related
stress, growing media scrutiny, increasedfocus on public safety suicides, and the

(19:15):
reality and fear of senseless line ofduty death, it is more important than
ever that all first responders have accessto health and wellness resources. Built on
the APEX mobile platform, Lighthouse isaccessible via the web or those applications I
mentioned earlier. The mission is toensure that every public safety agency in the

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nation is able to provide its employeesand families. So important to include the
families with sustainable, confidential, andanonymous access to first responder focused health and
wellness resources. So one of themost well, one of the nice things.
It's available twenty four to seven.Because it's in an app form on
your phone, you can look atit whenever you want. No one knows

(20:00):
what you're looking at. It's yourtime to look at the different talking the
different points. On the application itself, there are resources for health and health related