Looking back over the past year, Lt. Jamie Russo is proud of the work done so far.

"I can tell through watching body camera footage of our officers that they've developed a good rapport and they were able to provide a lot better care of service to the community in need," Russo said.

The Erie Police Department's Crisis Intervention Unit was started in May of 2023. A team of 10 professionally trained officers, along with a designated vehicle, responds to domestic calls, intervenes in mental health crises and makes the proper referrals.

Russo says the unit has responded to 2,392 calls since it first started.

"Their primary function is working with our mental health community, our homeless community, juveniles or any type of outreach programs they have," Russo said.

Along the way, Erie Police has teamed up with Crisis Services in Erie to provide the help their clients need.

"Being able to just connect with a person when you're responding," said Stacey Buettner, program director of Crisis Services. "That's going to help with deescalating the situation, to just let somebody know that you're there with them."

That's what Jamie Lewis and Lew Nordin will be doing. As of this week, these two professional mental health clinicians have been added to the team, who are now working hand-in-hand to co-respond with Erie Police.

"Both of us have a huge passion for mental health," Nordin said. "It's kind of like a dream come true."

Above all, Lewis and Nordin explained that relationships are the most important factor in these kinds of situations.

"Getting them to know that, 'Hey, I understand that you are having this bad day, but there are days that you have good days,' and that's what we remember," Lewis said.