How communities respond to a mental health concern or crisis may directly contribute to consumer perception, potential stigma, and willingness to engage in help-seeking behavior. This week’s Rocky Mountain MIRECC Short Takes podcast highlights a local program invested in proactively reaching out to individuals who may experience mental health challenges, and build healthy relationships that better serve community members both in crisis and for the long haul. Please join Scott Snow (Director of the Crisis Services Division, Denver Police Department) and Chris Richardson (Program Manager of the Mental Health Center of Denver) as they talk about Denver’s Crisis Intervention and Response Unit (CIRU). Here is some of what they discuss:

• The program’s origins and goals
• How the Co-Responder program changes an old cycle of “wash, rinse repeat”
• Going beyond crisis response to linking citizens to needed services
• Diverting mental health from justice-involved and/or jail
• Tracking the outcomes, how’s it working so far
• Greatest successes and ways to improve