Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number posted on Perry County, Mo. Sheriff’s Office new patrol cars

PERRYVILLE, Mo. (KFVS) - The Perry County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office is taking steps to show their support for mental health awareness.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is now posted on the rear of new patrol cars.

Anyone can dial or text 988, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for free and confidentially, if they are experiencing suicidal, substance use and other mental health crisis.

In a released statement, Perry County Sheriff Jason Klaus believes by promoting services like 988, this will give individuals another option when experiencing a crisis, instead of calling 911 or other emergency services.

“We are here to serve our community, whatever the call, but sometimes finding the right service, at the right time, may not always be law enforcement,” said Sheriff Klaus.

In addition to displaying 988 on patrol units, Klaus says a majority of his office has received Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training. This training is to help staff identify a person who might be in crisis by using verbal de-escalation skills and understand what community resources are needed to help.

“By partnering with the Community Counseling Center, Gibson Center for Behavioral Change, Perry County Memorial Hospital, and other community services, we can develop relationships which will best serve those in need,” said Klaus.

During Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the sheriff’s office joined the Community Counseling Center Foundation in displaying a yard sign which reads, “It’s Okay to NOT be Okay.”

Klaus said his office will continue to promote 988 and work with community resources to best serve the community when in crisis.

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