Since the Bootheel Area Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) was formed in 2016, it has become an asset for Sikeston DPS.

The crisis team is a network of law enforcement officers, mental health providers, social service agencies and community service providers from Mississippi, New Madrid, Scott, and Stoddard counties.

“CIT is law enforcement and your mental health clinicians, human service providers who get together and find solutions to help people that are suffering with mental illness,” said Sikeston DPS Capt. Jon Broom, who is the council chair of Bootheel CIT.

The business of the Council is informed by the needs identified by agencies and providers within the Bootheel area. Bootheel Area CIT works to address any structural barriers within the area and advocates for people within the area to have access to mental health care or services. The council also provides direction and support for training officers in crisis intervention and de-escalation.

“We hold an annual training each year,” Broom said. “It’s a 40-hour, week-long CIT training and that’s open to law enforcement but it’s also open to probation officers, juvenile officers, and EMS. They are trained on how to diffuse, de-escalate the crisis itself and they are of course linked to the services they might need.”

Broom added there is a State of Missouri CIT that is over all the councils and that since the Bootheel Area CIT began in 2016, the number of CITs across the state have grown. Currently there are just a few small areas of the state that do not have CITs.

“The state of Missouri and governor’s office we have now, and the Missouri Department of Public Safety has really invested in mental health for our community members and just as importantly, mental health for first responders too,” Broom said, adding that other states are behind Missouri when it comes to CIT training.

The need for Bootheel Area CIT has grown over the years, especially in the area, as mental health cases continue to grow.

“It’s a whole lot more prevalent than when I started 26 years ago,” Broom said. “This is something we deal with on a daily basis, and sometimes its multiple times throughout the day that we’re dealing with folks in some sort of mental health crisis.”

Broom said two issues play into the increase in the Bootheel area. The first is that officers are better trained to recognize certain traits of a mental health issue. The other is the availability of methamphetamine and other stronger drugs.

“These folks are already paranoid or in some sort of psychosis, and then they take methamphetamine or fentanyl or whatever drug they’re taking, and it throws gas on that fire,” Broom said.  

While Bootheel Area CIT helps find solutions for those dealing with mental illness, they also want to reduce the stigma that is often associated with mental illness.

While mental health issues are becoming increasingly more accepted into society, there are still plenty of instances where those suffering feel like they may be labeled as crazy or insane.

Broom said someone may have not had any issues but then are suddenly dealing with a divorce or loss of a family member that causes some depression or anxiety.

“We just really want people to know that going to a clinician or psychologist or getting counseling is absolutely no different than going to the doctor and getting treated for high blood pressure,” Broom said. “We really want to reduce that stigma. It’s OK to go and talk to folks like that.”

Law enforcement agencies that currently are a part of Bootheel CIT are: Chaffee Police Department, Mississippi County Sheriff's Office, New Madrid County Sheriff's Department, Scott County Sheriff's Office, Sikeston DPS and the Stoddard County Sheriff's Office.

Other council community partners are: Bootheel Counseling Services, Catholic Charities, County Disability Resources, Gibson Center for Behavioral Change, Health and Senior Services, HOPE Center, MDMC, Mississippi County Juvenile Detention Center, Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, Probation and Parole, Scott County Juvenile Office, SEMO Behavioral Health, Sikeston Regional Center, Southeast Health-Cape Girardeau, Southeast Health-Stoddard County, and the Veterans Administration. (Feb. 9, 2023)