Avel will be expanding its crisis care services for law enforcement to South Dakota.
While a certain boost for those in that field, officials say mental health services are needed for everyone.
Law enforcement agencies in South Dakota, among other states, will have access to professional caretakers 24/7 through Avel E-Care.
Brian Erickson is Avel general manager of behavioral health. He said this has been in the works since 2020.
“They have a lot of stressors in their life, and sometimes they don’t think they should be calling out for help because it shows a sign of weakness, and that’s certainly not the case," Erickson said. "So, we felt we should really be doing something to help them. We now provide an opportunity for them to call, not as an individual in crisis, but as themselves.”
He said the initiative in South Dakota came from the state’s highest court.
“Chief Justice (David) Gilbertson at the time was looking at an opportunity to see how they could divert upstream individuals coming into his court system that had behavioral health issues that really didn’t need to be there," Erickson said. "It was maybe an issue in crisis that caused them to enter the law system. So, can we support them?”
While this opportunity is extended specifically to first responders, Erickson said these types of programs are needed everywhere.
“More and more we’re seeing increase in need, whether its coming through emergency departments or whether it be the general public," Erickson said. "A lot of stressors, especially as they come through after the stresses of the COVID response.”
For the general public, the 988 crisis lifeline has been running for over a year and is free to call anytime.