Missy Miller, co-response clinician with the Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness Department, left, stands with Dr. Cherylynn Lee, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office behavioral sciences manager. The county’s Co-Response Team won the Innovator of the Year Award Saturday during the South Coast Chamber of Commerce Goleta’s Finest Awards.
GOLETA — The Santa Barbara County Co-Response Team was named the Innovator of the Year at the 2022 South Coast Chamber of Commerce Goleta’s Finest Awards.
This year’s award recipients were honored during a dinner and awards ceremony Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness work as partners in the operation of the co-response team.
The co-response teams work to de-escalate crises and divert people who are impacted by mental illness and substance use disorders, from the criminal justice system when safe and appropriate to do so, according to a news release.
The co-response team began as a pilot program in 2018 and has expanded to three teams countywide. Under the program, a sheriff’s deputy works side by side with a behavioral wellness clinician to respond to crisis calls.
For more information, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=neQ73KlroH0.
The co-response team can be accessed by calling 9-1-1.
For linkage to mental health services or for urgent or crisis needs, call the Behavioral Wellness 24/7 Access line at 1-888-868-1649.
For more information, go to www.countyofsb.org/274/behavioral-wellness.
— Katherine Zehnder
