At their April Board of Supervisors meeting, Cumberland Township Board members were introduced by MH-IDD Community Liaison Bruce Bartz to the new police co-responder McKenzie Johnson, a mental health clinician assigned to police departments to assist officers during emergency calls, helping to de-escalate crisis situations and connecting individuals to available resources. The crisis intervention co-responder program is sponsored by WellSpan Behavioral Health.
Other Adams County police departments have already begun rolling out the program, with Cumberland Township now officially beginning the services as well.
Emphasizing that one in four persons is affected by mental health issues and describing the various aspects of the program, Bartz thanked the supervisors for recognizing the critical need in their township and making this program possible. He mentioned that Johnson had already been instrumental in a recent incident, where an individual refused to talk to police but was willing to talk to Johnson which resulted in a positive outcome. A former police officer himself, Bartz mentioned that he was impressed with the progress of the co-responder programs in both York and Adams counties.
Cumberland Police officers will undergo training to effectively make use of this resource, with select officers already Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) certified. “We are making sure all of our officers are properly trained to benefit from this valuable resource as best as we can. We only have one shot at making this program work under the MH-IDD grant,” Police Chief Matt Trostel said.
Click here to read our related storyIn other police business, Chief Trostel reported on the department’s number of calls during the month; updates on police vehicle upgrades; department training of individual police members, as well as positive communications received commending several police officers and the department for exemplary handling of various incidents.
Trostel reported that his department helped the Carroll Valley Police Department with this year’s National Prescription Takeback Program which turned out to be a huge success. He pointed out that the Cumberland Township Police Department has a 24/7-365 drug drop box at the CTPD station throughout the year. (See also information on permanent collection sites at: Adams County Medication Collection Boxes) but may consider a similar event next fall, in collaboration with the DA’s office.
Trostel further reported on the department’s efforts to acquire a Trafcon Shield Speed Display Trailer to help “remind drivers of the speed they are traveling but additionally provide detailed analytics that contribute towards the enforcement efforts to keep the speeds down and make it a safer township for everyone.” Since this is a non-budgeted item for the department, it will have to rely on donations from the community. The township is about $1,925.00 short of the necessary funds to purchase the device and is asking for donations to help meet their funding goal.
Information on other business discussions, including each of the Engineering Projects, Bills/Budget approvals, and other Committee Reports presented at the meeting can be found in the Regular Board Meeting Agenda: Cumberland Township BOS Meeting Agenda 4.25.23, and will be available in further detail on the Cumberland Township website, once the minutes of this meeting have been posted: Cumberland Township BOS Meetings 2023.
Featured Image Caption: (l-r) York/Adams Mental Health-Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (MH-IDD) Community Liaison Bruce Bartz; mental health co-responder McKenzie Johnson and Cumberland Township Police Chief Matt Trostel
Donate Gardner is a freelance writer and journalist who came to Gettysburg from Montgomery County, Maryland. A former linguist-turned-legal professional, Donate recently retired and is eager to support her new community in a variety of ways. She currently serves as the news communicator for the Adams County migrant outreach program, Pasa La Voz and supports various pro bono legal services to migrants in the area.
An immigrant born, raised, and educated in Western Europe, Donate uses her multi-lingual background to maintain connection to other cultures, both as a writer, historical researcher and advocate.
Donate is also an active musician, multi-instrumentalist and award-winning songwriter, enjoying the rich music and arts community in Gettysburg, and supporting traveling musicians coming through the area. Donate can be reached at: dvbgardner@gmail.com.