By Al Stanek
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Walworth County’s experiment with embedding a full-time county-funded crisis worker within Whitewater’s Police Department has been so successful that the program is being expanded. The trial program which began last year in Whitewater and Delavan is now being expanded to the City of Lake Geneva and the Walworth County Sheriff’s Department.

Since last April a trained crisis worker funded by the Walworth County Health and Human Services Department has been responding along with Whitewater Police officers when a call involves alcohol abuse, drug abuse, or mental health issues including suicide attempts. Whitewater Acting Police Chief Dan Meyer reported that over 135 Whitewater police calls utilized the special skills of the county crisis worker in the first 180 days of the program.

Meyer’s report to the Whitewater Common Council on March 15 pointed out that, “Previously officers would arrive on scene, gather information and then hope to connect with crisis workers.” Crisis calls occur over all portions of the day and night and any gap in response time by the skilled crisis worker can be a problem in many cases. “On many occasions individuals refused to speak with officers but were willing to discuss issues with the Critical Crisis Liaison (CCL),” according to Meyer’s report.

Trained social worker and former Milwaukee Police Officer Amanda Akridge, who has been Whitewater PD’s CCL, will be transferring to the Lake Geneva PD. Araceli Wence, who has been active in the area of family violence, will be succeeding Akridge effective April 11. Wence brings the added benefit of being fluent in both English and Spanish.