Skip to content

Police in the Philly region are forging partnerships with social workers to better handle mental health crises

"A person experiencing a mental health crisis doesn’t need to go to jail — they need support," said Walter Bynum, a co-responder who has been working in Bensalem since last year.

IMPACT members (from left) Autumn Caraballo, Kaitlyn Friess, and Christina Lemma, partner with police officers in Pine Hill, including officer Martin Brennan, to better handle calls for assistance involving mental illness. The IMPACT program uses a co-responder model that pairs police with social workers in an attempt to avoid violence or criminal charges.
IMPACT members (from left) Autumn Caraballo, Kaitlyn Friess, and Christina Lemma, partner with police officers in Pine Hill, including officer Martin Brennan, to better handle calls for assistance involving mental illness. The IMPACT program uses a co-responder model that pairs police with social workers in an attempt to avoid violence or criminal charges.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer