83R17240 BK-F
By: Walle H.R. No. 1248
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Houston Police Department formed a Mental Health
Unit in 2007 to develop, implement, and manage the department's
multifaceted specialized response strategies for individuals in
serious mental health crises; and
WHEREAS, The Mental Health Unit is now a state and national
model, having trained the first group of Crisis Intervention Team
officers in the San Antonio and Austin Police Departments, as well
as numerous law enforcement officers and mental health
professionals across the state and nation; and
WHEREAS, In 2010, Houston became one of six police
departments nationally to be designated as a Learning Site by the
United States Council of State Governments; as such, the department
provides crisis intervention training and educational materials to
law enforcement officers and mental health personnel from across
the country and hosts site visits for them to learn about its
programs; and
WHEREAS, The Mental Health Unit has collaborated with
criminal justice, mental health, and advocacy organizations in
Houston and throughout Harris County to develop a number of
state-of-the-art programs; among them are the Crisis Intervention
Response Team, which pairs a Houston Mental Health Peace Officer
with a licensed professional counselor from the Mental Health
Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County to provide a highly
specialized response to individuals in the most serious mental
health crises, and the Chronic Consumer Stabilization Initiative, a
proactive program to keep chronic consumers out of crisis with
intensive case management; this initiative, which has reduced the
number of calls-for-service to individuals on its caseload by as
much as 70 percent, was recognized with the prestigious 2010
International Association of Chiefs of Police Community Policing
Award and was a finalist for the Herman Goldstein Award for
Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing; and
WHEREAS, In 2011, the Mental Health Unit implemented a
Homeless Outreach Team with the mission of improving the lives of
homeless Houstonians and reducing their numbers by helping them
overcome the barriers that keep them homeless; during its first two
years, the Homeless Outreach Team found housing for more than 200
homeless individuals and referred over 1,000 individuals to local
service providers, thereby connecting them with physical and mental
health care; and
WHEREAS, In addition to these endeavors, the City of Houston
collaborated with community organizations to open the Houston
Center for Sobriety, a facility closely aligned with the Houston
Police Department's Mental Health Unit, and the unit's manager,
Lieutenant Mike Lee, was instrumental in its design, development,
and implementation; the center serves as an alternative to jail for
people who are publicly intoxicated, as they can remain in the
facility until sober; they are subsequently counseled for alcohol
and substance abuse problems and provided with referral information
for follow-up counseling and treatment; and
WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Chief of Police Charles
A. McClelland, Jr., Executive Assistant Chief Timothy
N. Oettmeier, and Mental Health Unit Manager Lieutenant Michael
A. Lee, the Houston Police Department's Mental Health Unit
continues to exemplify excellence and innovation through
collaboration and commitment; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
Legislature hereby commend the Houston Police Department's Mental
Health Unit for its service to the community, mental health
professionals, and the criminal justice system and extend to all
those associated with the unit sincere best wishes for continued
success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the unit as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.