By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Two people were recently honored for reaching out to those with mental health issues and helping them navigate through life’s difficulties.
Bowling Green Police Officer Scott Frank and Danielle Oetjen, of Family Services of Northwest Ohio, were both recognized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Wood County.
Frank was singled out for his handling of an incident in March involving a barricaded suspect that was initially reported as a hostage situation.
“Your efforts resulted in a safe conclusion to the crisis,” Bowling Green Police Chief Tony Hetrick wrote in a letter commending Frank. “During the incident you provided intelligence to the crisis negotiators and SRT (Special Response Team) all while compassionately providing for the needs of the family that was victimized during the initial incident. Your actions during this incident are indeed remarkable.”
Jessica Schmidt, director at NAMI of Wood County, praised Frank for his willingness to learn more about working with people with mental illness, including taking Crisis Intervention Team training.
“He volunteered to take the first training we offered,” Schmidt said. “That speaks to his character. He’s been very active when it comes to the CIT program and continuing the efforts in the community.”
A Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program is a model for community policing that brings together law enforcement, mental health providers, hospital emergency departments and individuals with mental illness and their families to improve responses to people in crisis. CIT programs enhance communication, identify mental health resources for assisting people in crisis and ensure that officers get the training and support that they need.
Schmidt explained the value of the CIT training. “It gives the officers another tool to use, in working with someone in a mental health crisis,” she said “They learn how to interact and de-escalate the situation.”
Since 2013, Frank has been the police department’s CIT coordinator.
For his efforts, Frank was awarded the Community Impact Award from NAMI.
“Scott does a fantastic job communicating with persons who are struggling with mental illness or have personal problems. He is calm and compassionate and has a real knack for putting people at ease and getting them the help they need,” Hetrick said.
Schmidt described another incident in which Scott kept in contact with a person in the community with mental illness. When he realized she was in declining health, he reacted.
“Instead of waiting till it became a crisis, he contacted mental health professionals,” Schmidt said of Frank. He advocates for them, “to get them into services.”
The other NAMI award for a local provider went to Danielle Oetjen, who works in the Bowling Green office of Family Services of Northwest Ohio.
“She goes above and beyond for linking people for services,” Schmidt said of Oetjen. She checks on people being discharged from hospitals and makes sure people make it to medical appointments.
The interim director at Family Services said Oetjen once found a community organization which would donate a bicycle for a client whose bike was lost when they were hospitalized. Oetjen delivered the bike to the client since it was the person’s only mode of transporation.
In another instance Oetjen got a call from a client who had just had a job interview, then went to the parking lot and couldn’t get their car started. Oetjen met the client in the parking lot and helped jumpstart the car.
And several times, Oetjen has arranged for clients to get food from a food pantry after their release from the hospital, in some cases getting the food herself if the client lacks transportation.
“Several times I have had social workers from the hospital go out of their way to contact me to let me know how helpful Danielle is to them and to the clients they mutually serve,” wrote Heather Reynolds, the interim director.
