PORTLAND, Maine — A lot of times when deputies at the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office get a call, it's for a mental health-related emergency.
"You know, the reality is, we've really seen mental health go through the roof in the last couple of years," Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said.
He added that he and his team saw a 300 percent increase in calls last year, and many people need this emergency help more than once.
There are at least two households in the county that his team has visited more than 20 times each.
"If you've gone to talk to somebody who's [experiencing] mental illness 25 times, what makes you think that the 26th, or the 27th, or the 30th time things are going to get any better?" Joyce added.
But unfortunately, he said it's a supply and demand issue. There are too many people with untreated mental health issues and not enough mental health professionals to help them.
"We are the de facto mental health provider after 5 o'clock on Friday and until 3 o'clock on Monday," Joyce said.
That's why Senators Susan Collins and Angus King are allocating $750,000 of federal money to pilot a program to hire more mental health professionals to work with law enforcement.
"Our police departments and our police officers, wonderful as they are, are not trained in most cases to deal with serious mental health problems," Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) said.
"There are a lot of mentally ill people on the street, people that are dangerous to themselves, perhaps for others, and a lot of times law enforcement is the front line," Senator Angus King (I-Maine) added.
This funding will also help Knox and Waldo Counties. Senators Collins and King said they hope that's just the start and the money can help many more departments in the coming years. Law enforcement leaders said they will desperately need that support for years to come.
"We're going to be floundering for the next decade or so because it's not getting better, it's getting worse in my opinion," Joyce said.
A worsening mental health crisis, yet another emergency first responders are running towards.