ELIOT, Maine — The police chief in Eliot is getting recognition from his peers for his efforts to better address mental health. He was recently named Chief of the Year by the Maine Association of Police.
Elliot Moya created a crisis intervention team and made officer wellness a priority — a shift that is changing the course of policing not only in Maine but across the country.
During the pandemic, Moya was approached by his officers about doing more to address mental health calls in the community.
"They were interested in 'Let's dig deeper. Let's see what we can do here,'" Moya said.
Sgt. Ronald Lund encouraged his chief to watch a related HBO documentary. Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops follows two police officers in San Antonio who divert people away from jail into mental health treatment.
"Seeing it I was like, 'How do I build that?'" Moya added.
Moya said it was daunting to envision, with only eight police officers and less than a $2 million budget. But several members of the force already had crisis intervention team training, known as CIT.
Moya started a CIT team where officers reported all mental health calls and did follow-up checks. Police responded to 131 mental health incidents in 2022, about 25 percent of of the department's total police calls.
He partnered with National Alliance on Mental Illness Maine and Sweetster Mobile Crisis Interventions, who do ride-a-longs. Through York County Community Action Corporation police in Kittery, York, and Elliot share a case worker to serve people in all three communities.
"When we can bring Sweetser on, or you know, a social worker, they can really connect people with the resources they need. And probably most of the time that's not jail," Moya explained.
Wellness checks are also now available to the force who can meet with a mental health expert when needed.
"We need to start looking after each other so we don't have people dealing with crisis internally," Lund said.
Moya's advocacy for mental health was recently recognized by the Maine Association of Police. The organization represents more than 50 Maine police departments. Lund and other officers nominated Moya for the recognition.
In June, Moya will host a Wellness conference, open to officers, their spouses, and social workers. Last year's symposium drew 125 officers from across Maine and New England. This year he hopes to double that number.
He hopes other small towns in Maine will also focus their efforts on the growing need to address mental health in their communities.
"It really is possible. You have to make that shift and do it," Moya said.
In addition to Chief Moya, Paul Fenton, chief of the Cape Elizabeth Police Department was also named Chief of the Year, as last year's award ceremony was canceled due to the pandemic.