Broken Arrow Police partners with CREOKS for crisis response services

The Broken Arrow Police Department is making a change with its Crisis Response Teams by partnering with a new provider starting July 1.

The department’s Crisis Response Team will now work with CREOKS, a nonprofit mental health organization based in Broken Arrow, replacing its current partnership with GRAND Mental Health.

What’s Changing?

After a one-year contract with GRAND Mental Health, the Broken Arrow police's contract will officially end on June 30. The following day, CREOKS will take over as the city’s crisis intervention partner.

Police say officers will still be joined by mental health professionals when responding to people in crisis, but now, many of those individuals won’t necessarily have to travel to Tulsa for ongoing care.

Local Access, Fewer Barriers

One major benefit of the new partnership is its geographical advantage.

“By partnering with them here, people don’t have to travel to Tulsa anymore for follow-ups or appointments,” said Broken Arrow Police Patrol Sergeant Bryan Bandy. “It helps them a lot and just makes it a lot smoother and easier transition for that individual; keeps them more comfortable.”

CREOKS already has a facility in Broken Arrow and is in the process of building a new mental health hospital in the city. That expanded footprint is expected to give the Crisis Response Team more tools and more flexibility.

A One-Stop Approach

Madison Thompson, CREOKS’ director of client services and community outreach, said the upcoming facility will centralize care for many patients.

“This facility is a one-stop shop,” Thompson said. “We currently have clients who will come here for outpatient. They have to go somewhere else for housing. They have to go somewhere else for inpatient. They have to go to their PCP for psych meds. But this place is going to allow them to come to one facility and get all of their needs met.”

Thompson said that even if CREOKS is unable to provide a specific service, its staff will help connect individuals with the right care provider.

The Numbers Behind the Need

In the past six months, Broken Arrow police say the Crisis Response Team has responded to an average of:

1. 66 service calls per month
2. 28 follow-up visits per month
3. 12 outreach calls per month

What’s Next?

With CREOKS expanding its presence in Broken Arrow, officials say the department’s Crisis Response Team will have more local options to help people in crisis.