CBHJ launches new Crisis Response initiative, managed by Leonard Swanson

The Center for Behavioral Health and Justice (CBHJ) at the Wayne State University School of Social Work is excited to launch the crisis response and stabilization initiative. The initiative will be managed by Leonard Swanson, who has served CBHJ partner communities as a Project Coordinator for jail diversion and opioid treatment ecosystems since 2017.

"We need more robust connections between the traditional 911 and behavioral health systems. Whether that involves recognition at dispatch, training for law enforcement, mobile crisis teams, or crisis stabilization, we need data and evaluation to legitimize and sustain this momentum into lasting system change," said Swanson.

In his management role, Leonard will expand existing connections to partner communities, formalizing efforts to improve community response to behavioral health crises and deflection from the criminal/legal system in intercepts 0-1 of the Sequential Intercept Model. Other CBHJ initiatives include juvenile justice, harm reduction, jail diversion, and reentry.

"Leonard is a strong advocate for improving crisis response in communities across the state. His work on PROACT demonstrates that small changes in large systems can improve response and connection to care and can save lives. This new initiative aligns with our existing initiatives across the sequential intercept model and allows us to better support local communities in their effort to improve crisis response", said Liz Tillander, Deputy Director of the CBHJ.

Leonard began his new role in March 2021.