Partnership Brings PSW to NPD

Nicole Klomp, LLMSW- NPD Social Worker completing her reports after responding to a call with an Officer in the field.

“An outstanding opportunity to get the services that the community needs.”

NEWAYGO, MI – Arbor Circle has been awarded a grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to support a Police Social Worker (PSW) for the City of Newaygo Police Department (NPD). The PSW will assist with clinical crisis responses for community members, connections to behavioral health and other community resources, and debriefings with department officers. In a community where resources are limited and not always easily accessible, this new support aims to connect community members to valuable services and will assist in improving overall community health.

“This program is meant to build on the strengths of both our organization and the Newaygo Police Department,” shared Emmy Ellis, Outpatient Program Director for Arbor Circle. “We are grateful to have such strong partnerships in our community and look forward to seeing the impact of this collaboration.”

A PSW is a specialized social worker who, as a citizen, works alongside law enforcement to assist community members with utilizing resources and services; provide crisis response support for mental health and substance related crises; and help law enforcement reduce rates of recidivism, recurring calls, and access to services for individualized needs. The social worker is able to offer immediate emotional support to community members during a crisis, along with officers responding to a traumatic scene. The PSW will be an integral part of the NPD team and will attend staff meetings, staff trainings, and become embedded in the culture of the police department.

“I see this position as an outstanding opportunity to get the services that the community needs in place during the ever-changing times in our country,” said Georgia Andres, Chief of Police for Newaygo Police Department. “Having a social worker ‘in house’ can provide the feet on the ground action Newaygo residents need. This grant is just what we need to get the ball rolling, it’s a breath of fresh air for our
city.”

Funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund’s 2022 Behavioral Health Grant, the PSW will work with the community as a whole; engaging with all ages of the population of Newaygo in an effort to better engage them with services necessary for their specific needs.

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