HENDERSONVILLE - With the number of mental health-related calls on the rise, the Hendersonville Police Department is looking for backup from a new source — a social worker.
Tori Doyle, a graduate student intern from Western Carolina University’s Department of Social Work, will begin working part-time with the department this August through the university’s Community Care Program, which partners with law enforcement agencies to tackle the root causes of certain police interactions.
Doyle can be called to a scene if an officer encounters someone who may need help connecting with community resources and services, or can follow up with a resident who could benefit from such assistance.
The program’s goals are to expand the police department’s toolbox and go beyond arrests and citations; promote long-term solutions; promote officer and resident safety through de-escalation and pre-crisis intervention services; reduce the risk of trauma from interactions with law enforcement; and reduce or streamline officers’ workloads.
Police Chief Blair Myhand became aware of the program after speaking with Sylva Police Chief Chris Hatton, who adopted the program in 2021. In Sylva, the internship experience went so well that the department hired a full-time social worker in 2023.
The intern will never be the first person to respond to a situation, Myhand said, but can be called by an officer who sees a need. Much of Doyle’s work will be follow-up outreach, making contact after the law enforcement interaction to provide further assistance.
Myhand said the department has fielded several complex mental health-related calls in the last nine months that have exceeded police officers’ training.
“I think the officers are anxious to have a resource like this available to them,” he added.
Those calls include situations where someone needs help with substance abuse, mental health, homelessness, health care and other concerns.
“I want someone who has the experience to help us respond better to those types of calls outside of an officer’s wheelhouse,” Myhand said.
Some people are more willing to speak with a social worker than a police officer, he added, and the program is “a better approach to the way we’ve been doing things traditionally.”
The department has faced staffing challenges on top of the increasingly complex issues they encounter in the field.
“It’s a way to be better at what we do and provide quality service and get people help so they don’t fall through the cracks,” Myhand said.
“I am of the opinion that we cannot police tomorrow the way we police yesterday.”
How the program works
Katy Allen, associate instructor and director of field work for WCU’s Department of Social Work, developed the Community Care Program with Cindy Caravelis, professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
The initiative was spurred by the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020, Allen said, as well as COVID and the opioid crisis. The program began as a pilot in Sylva and has since spread to other communities including Waynesville, Boone, Lincolnton and Murphy.
The partnership is offered at no cost for the first year from WCU, then would have to be paid for from the police department's budget.
There are a lot of first responder programs in urban areas, but not rural counties, Allen said, which led them to reach out to the Sylva Police Department about embedding a social work student at the department to offer support and resource management.
Arrests aren’t solving the problems caused by substance abuse, poverty and mental health, Allen said, but a social worker can take the time to delve into these issues and hopefully prevent recurring interactions with police.
About 62% of Community Care Program referrals from the Sylva Police Department resulted in people welcoming a social worker’s assistance, a Feb. 7, 2024 article by the Sylva Herald says.
The paper reported on a program update given to the Sylva Town Council, and then-intern Galadriel LaVere is quoted as saying that the program “... can be anything. It can be as simple as me getting information for the Jackson County program. It could be, if transit’s not available, it can be me transporting them … or helping draw up paperwork.
“My job is to find out what is the barrier that is leading them not to be successful. That can be different for every individual we see.”
Chief Hatton is also quoted in the article as saying that “Community Care doesn’t just do homeless assistance. We have helped college professors, we have helped people in all walks of life.”
The interns also report positive experiences, as they get to work with people in crisis while seeing the overall system and its problems and challenges, Allen said. “They really enjoy being on the ground in the community, working with folks who are struggling.”
Allen said she will work closely with Doyle and two other interns at police agencies in Waynesville and Lincolnton this school year to share what they are seeing and learning, what challenges the communities are facing and how to make the Community Care Program work for each.
Police officers working with social workers is not a new idea; Allen said partnerships were around in the 1970s, and agencies are now moving back toward the strategy after the war on drugs era. Officials are realizing that punitive efforts are not successful when people need support in areas such as mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence and homelessness, she added.
Plans for Hendersonville
During her first semester, Doyle, who is in the final year of the master of social work program, will identify and network with resources in the community and build a framework for the program in Hendersonville.
In January, she will grow the program by doing follow-ups with residents after calls and co-responding when needed.
“I have a real passion and respect for law enforcement and what they do and what they are tasked with,” Doyle told the Hendersonville City Council during their April 24 meeting, but thanks to her work with the Community Care Program, she also knows the program works and that it’s an "amazing" model.
“I would expect that by summer of next year, we’re having a conversation about what we want to do, continuing this program and making it maybe full time at some point,” Myhand told council members.
At the same time, the city is using $330,000 in American Rescue Plan funds to pay nonprofit Pisgah Legal for a lawyer and social worker who will establish a network of providers and affiliation agreements over the next two years, offering an entry point to service from the side of the justice system, City Attorney Angela Beeker said during the meeting.
“I think it can marry up nicely as a way to support each other,” she said of the two programs.
Doyle will be based at the police department, working three days a week.
“I didn't realize there was such a need for a social work and law enforcement partnership, and how beneficial it can be for rural communities in WNC,” she said. “Needless to say, I was over the moon when I found out I was chosen for the internship role at Hendersonville Police Department. Chief Myhand has been so welcoming already and is excited about the work we will be starting in August.”
“The most important thing for me to accomplish is to build strong and trusting relationships with the department and the community more broadly,” she added. “The first steps in the process of integrating social work into the department are the most important because it shows that our work is beneficial to the town/county, the department, and of course future clients.”
A police officer may not know all of the resources that can help the subject of a call, or victims of a crime, as navigating resources and systems of care can be complex, Allen said. Social workers, however, have that knowledge and can continue to help people beyond the law enforcement call.
“It’s an increasing challenge. If someone is in crisis, nine times out of 10 they are going to call 911,” Allen said, instead of a nonprofit that can help. But a social worker can connect the two.
“This program is not a magic wand … but it’s one more piece of the puzzle. It’s an effort to close the gap.”
Visit communitycare.wcu.edu for more information about the Community Care Program. The discussion of the program during the April 24 City Council meeting can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=JFUDt6ExRPY and begins at 1:10.
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