RTD Adds Three Clinicians to Mental Health and Homelessness Outreach Team
By Robert Davis
Three mental health clinicians will join the Regional Transportation District’s (RTD) mental health and homelessness outreach team as the agency seeks to expand its full-time assisting staff.
Anita Hoffman, LeAnne Figueroa, and Mary Kent, all of whom are contracted through the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD), will assist RTD’s Transit Police Department response to provide support to customers who may not have access to, or knowledge of, available mental health services.
RTD said in a statement that the push to add the clinicians comes from the realization that “there are certain situations that you cannot arrest your way out of.”
“Those who are suffering from mental health episodes may need assistance to get treatment or proper outreach, and this partnership with MHCD has allowed experts in the field to best meet the needs of the individual through a clinical lens,” the agency said.
On a typical day, the new clinicians will ride along with an officer and respond to situations involving individuals who affect rail or bus operations. This includes everything from de-escalating situations to connecting individuals with services.
“It all starts with building a relationship with an individual to assess what assistance is needed, and help the client access those services,” said Chris Richardson, associate director of MHCD Criminal Justice Services.
The new clinicians will also provide mental health services for RTD employees and develop training materials for the agency’s Customer Care staff to teach proper ways to deal with individuals who might be experiencing a mental health episode.
RTD started the program in September 2018 following an incident where an RTD-contracted private security guard beat a local artist, Raverro Stinnett, in a Union Station bathroom. Stinnett suffered multiple brain injuries and lost his full-ride scholarship to the college of Rocky Mountain Art and Design because of the incident.
Afterward, the agency added mental health clinicians to its staff in line with the Denver Police Department’s ride-along model, where mental health professionals help officers respond to out-of-the-box situations.
Nicholas Runyan, who was one of RTD’s first mental health responders contracted through MHCD, said the program is designed to help people get through their worst days.
“There’s not really a law enforcement solution to a lot of these crises,” he said. “And it’s wonderful that RTD reached out and saw this as something that really benefits their riders."
Due to its success, the agency decided to expand the program in June 2019. The agency also runs a suicide prevention campaign in collaboration with the Colorado Office of Behavioral Health and the Colorado Crisis Services, a mental health nonprofit.
RTD’s District B Board Member Shontel Lewis began pushing for the agency to end its contracts with off-duty police and private security to instead focus on expanding its mental health services this past summer.
Lewis told CBS4 that the idea was fomented by public calls to her office about people in need who weren’t receiving the right services.
“Our staff receives calls from the general public saying this person is in crises, and so our system wouldn’t necessarily change, what would change is the person who responds to it,” she said.
Current RTD mental health responders work between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
As the primary transportation service for people experiencing homelessness, especially for those who need to access housing, services, or work opportunities in another part of town, RTD’s Deputy Police Chief Steven Martingano said adding full-time mental health staffers would improve how the agency serves Denver’s most vulnerable population.
Because of this, Martingano said he would like to see the program expanded to at least five days a week, even though RTD is a 24-hour operation.
"The initial contact by a clinician can determine if an individual needs immediate psychological attention, medical help, medication, referral to a mental health organization or any other resolution instead of going directly to incarceration,” Martingano added.