From the Desk of the Stockbridge Police Chief —

By Darrell Fennelly

Truck Traffic

The question posed is if there is more large truck traffic on Main Street. My perception is yes. Although there seems to be more traffic in general. It seems that as we come out of the Covid slumber more people are coming here than ever before, so there does seem to be a lot more traffic than what we became accustomed to during Covid. In regards to large truck traffic, there are a number of road projects under way in South County that may account for the uptick in large trucks traveling through Stockbridge. Namely the reclamation and paving of Rt. 7 in Gt. Barrington. While this is not unusual for our summer season, the more traffic in general, the slower things move through town, therefore the time it takes for the large trucks to move through is longer, so the perception may be that there is just more of it. With that being said, your guess is as good as mine, but there certainly appears to be more large truck traffic.

Public Safety

The police department are tasked with protecting public health and safety and to identifying resources for those struggling with mental health, substance use disorders, and t assist social service agencies to provide direct and indirect services to our community at large. With these goals in mind, we have come to realize a cooperative Mental Health Co-Responder program helps us meet those requirements, enhance our capabilities, and provide essential additional services to our communities. Through this shared program, the Tri-Town Board of Health, Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge Police Departments have formed a unified partnership to provide our citizens shared access to a certified mental health clinician and substance use disorder counselor.

The Mental health Co-Responder Program is designed to increase earlier identification and intervention for citizens with mental illness who have contact with law enforcement. The goal is to decrease the likelihood that those individuals will be arrested and enter into the criminal justice system because of behaviors related to their mental illness. This program also provides an opportunity to assist citizens of our community who are in a crisis situation and help them get access to the treatment and resources that can have a positive impact on their life. These goals are accomplished by having a licensed mental health professional, in addition to the officers, respond to law enforcement calls for service that involve citizens with mental illness or substance use disorders.

The mental health co-responder is typically asked to respond to a location at the request of the law enforcement officers, once the scene is stable. A clinical assessment is made to determine the extent to which the citizen is a risk to themselves or others. A decision is then made about the type of intervention that would be most beneficial to the citizen to help them remain safe or regain a level of stability to be able to function appropriately in society. In the days and weeks following the call for service, the mental health co-responder continues to follow up with those individuals to make sure the intervention advice was utilized and/or helpful. This early intervention can decrease the number of repeated calls for service involving that individual. The mental health co-responder is able to assess the citizen in the field or at the Police Department and keep from tying up ambulance and ER time and services.

If anyone would like to utilize this service, please contact the Stockbridge Police Department at 413-298-4179 or our Co-Responder, Ivy Goodwin, at 413-717-7200 or email her at ivy@tritownhealth.org

Lots of trucks, and not just during parades. Photo: Patrick White