Butler’s Veterans Response Team helping bridge the gap for veterans in need
CRANBERRY TWP — Determined to meet veterans where they are, several Butler County public safety agencies joined forces with the VA Butler Healthcare System late last year to launch a specialized Veterans Response Team aimed at turning emergency calls into lifelines.
In an effort to properly care for those who have sacrificed for the nation, the Veterans Response Team held their second training session — a two-day course designed to equip military first responders with the tools to peacefully de-escalate veteran-related emergencies, connect peers to critical services and reduce unnecessary incarceration.
Nearly a dozen first responders attended Cranberry’s Public Safety Training Center on Thursday and Friday, June 26 and 27, for a combined 14-hour class to become a certified team member and learn more about what it takes to get veterans the help they need.
Butler became just the second county in the commonwealth to organize a team. Officials said they knew it was a worthwhile endeavor after attending similar sessions in Montgomery County.
“To have one veteran who is in a crisis talk to another veteran, especially a first responder … just having that rapport with one another will help,” said Sgt. Anthony Sawl, who serves as the Veteran Response Team’s Law Enforcement Liaison.
With more than 11,500 veterans living in Butler County, according to U.S. Census data, the program aims to ensure first responders are well equipped to assist veterans with any number of issues.
“It’s about helping veterans who are in crisis, but also just connecting veterans to services, resources and benefits that they can get that maybe they didn’t even know they could,” said Christina Lucas, VA Butler Healthcare System’s veterans justice outreach coordinator.
Officials are already seeing progress in that regard. Since the first training session took place last November, Lucas said there have been 26 referrals for care, with 16 of those people already being linked to various forms of assistance from the VA.
For Sawl, who previously served in the Air Force, the mission to help fellow veterans facing homelessness or mental health crises is deeply personal.
“As we’re dealing with these homeless veterans, these veteran response team members could hopefully change their minds and get them registered at the VA so they can get the proper care and the shelter they need,” he said. “So it’s vitally important.”
As someone who has seen what the VA can provide, Lucas said it’s about helping veterans break the stigma around receiving assistance.
“We want to break down all those barriers … so we can get them connected to services as quickly as possible,” she said. “Not a month or two down the road, but today.”
While the team is headquartered in Butler, officials said they’re open to expanding their outreach to other counties the health system serves, which includes Armstrong, Clarion, Lawrence and Mercer counties.
“We will continue to do this once or twice a year, with our ultimate goal being to have a VRT-trained responder in every station, whether that be fire, EMS or police,” Lucas said.
