SEMO CIT Council presents annual awards

Three from Perry County receive honors

Posted

The SEMO Crisis Intervention Team Council held its annual awards banquet on June 9, 2022, at the VFW Hall in Cape Girardeau.  Opening remarks were made by Det. Jason Klaus, CIT State Coordinator, Wendy Ice, CEO Community Counseling Center and Ryan Essex, COO Gibson Center for Behavioral Change.  The Invocation was provided by Police Chief Wes Blair of the Cape Girardeau Police Department and the keynote speaker was Scott Moyers, Director of Residential Treatment at Gibson Center for Behavioral Change.  Four awards were given this year: Outstanding Peer Support Professional, Outstanding Community Partner and two awards for Outstanding Officer. Awards are based on nominations by the entire CIT Council and voted on by the Executive Committee of the council.  Award recipients embody the essence of CIT which adheres to the principles of assisting individuals in behavioral health crisis to receive help and divert away from the criminal justice system where focus can be on treatment and not incarceration.  This year’s recipients are:

Outstanding Community Partner:  Kevin Gruenwald, Director of Juvenile Office 32nd Judicial District

Outstanding Peer Professional:  Mickey Glaub, Peer Support Professional, New Life Mission Inn, Perryville, MO

Outstanding Officers:  Det. Auston Turner, Perry County Sheriff’s Office and Det. Josh Erter, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office.

CIT is a regional, state, national and international recognized association dedicated to training law enforcement and first responders how to recognize and assist individual with behavioral health needs to decrease risk of harm to themselves or others.  This is accomplished through a partnership of law enforcement, behavioral health providers and other social service providers.  The SEMO CIT provides this service to Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry, Madison, and Ste. Genevieve counties.