Rutgers Health Partners with Law Enforcement to Expand Mental Health Crisis Response
November 13, 2024
ARRIVE Together of Middlesex County, run by University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) at Rutgers Health, has expanded its partnerships to include the East Brunswick, South River and Cranbury Police Departments, making New Jersey the first state in the nation to have a statewide law enforcement and mental health alternative response program.
ARRIVE Together (the acronym stands for Alternative Responses to Reduce Instance of Violence and Escalation) is now in all of New Jersey’s 21 counties. It brings together police personnel trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques with a certified mental health screener and crisis specialist to respond to 911 calls involving behavioral health incidents.
Sharon Smith-Kemper, program manager of Middlesex County Acute Psychiatric Services at Rutgers UBHC, discusses the need for this program.