As the town of Erie has grown over the years, officials have seen increasing demand for coresponders in the community.

A coresponder is a mental health professional who works closely with law enforcement to respond to calls involving people in crisis, according to Boulder County Coresponder Laura Ostrow.

“We are behavioral health and mental health professionals,” Ostrow said. “We have experience in deescalation, crisis management and mental health. All of us have come together to support those types of calls involving community members who may be struggling,” Ostrow said.

Erie coresponders have seen a 62% increase in calls — from 373 in 2023 to 604 calls in 2024, according to the Erie Police Department.

“For about three months, Laura was the sole coresponder for the town of Erie, handling the increased call volume seamlessly,” a post from the department on X says.Ostrow believes they are seeing an influx in calls for service because more residents are aware that coresponders are available in the area.

“Actually, our team has seen increases in our numbers each year since its inception,” Ostrow said. “And part of that is attributed to just the actual growth of our team, starting with four team members (in the Boulder County team) in 2020.

“Our team has grown exponentially and our numbers have also been increased based on capacity. I would also say a lot of (the growth in calls) is due to the relationship and trust that we’ve been building,” Ostrow said.

The main purpose of having a coresponder present during a crisis is to aid in deescalation and provide support, Ostrow said.

“We are a diversion program at our core,” Ostrow said. “What we do mainly is trying to divert community members, even if they’re having law enforcement contact, from having additional law enforcement contact or hospitalizations.”

According to a report from Mental Health Colorado, coresponder models have “positive, measurable effects” on how law enforcement handles behavioral health crises, including training to better deescalate intense or emotional crisis situations without the use of force.

In the presence of a coresponder, individuals in crisis report feeling “less threatened and stigmatized in interactions” compared to interactions with police alone, the report says.

Ostrow said coresponders continue to provide assistance and resources even after an incident occurs.

“We’re not only supporting them on scene, but we’re also doing followups, case management and coordination of services to make sure that they have the support they need and are connected to the right resources so they can be diverted from the system overall,” Ostrow said.

Ostrow said she began as a coresponder for Wheat Ridge Police Department in June 2023 and started working alongside the Erie Police Department in October 2023.

“There was a decent amount of time that I was a sole coresponder, but I will say, it didn’t really feel like I was on my own at all, just because we are a team,” Ostrow said. “And even though I was the only one placed at the Erie Police Department, we have a team of coresponders throughout the county that are all really supportive when it comes to cross coverage and helping out with case management.”

Kirsten Rigotti, who is part of the Boulder County Co-Responder Team alongside Ostrow, said that her goal is to directly assist and lend a helping hand to community members.

“For me, my background was in juveniles who were involved in the criminal justice system, and I just wanted to branch out into the community and be real ‘boots on the ground,’” Rigotti said. “Helping adults and working with law enforcement was always a big draw to me too.”

The Boulder County Co-Responder Program was created through a collaborative partnership between Boulder County Community Services and the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office with support from a five-year grant from the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration, according to the Boulder County Co-Responder Program’s 2023 annual report.

The Boulder County Co-Responder Team currently consists of 11 coresponders, a case manager and two clinical supervisors who serve communities in unincorporated Boulder County, Louisville, Lafayette and Erie.

According to Ostrow, coresponders typically receive two sorts of calls to service: primary and secondary response.

“We do primary response, which is what we call it where we’re riding along in the cars with the police officers or deputies and we end up being right on scene in the moment,” Ostrow said. “But we can also do secondary, which means officers are on scene and they feel like, you know what, we could benefit from a coresponder coming out and providing resources. They can page us out or call us and we can go out there secondary, in a county car, in a pretty timely fashion.”

Having a coresponder alongside law enforcement has gained traction over the years, Ostrow said.

“They definitely use us here,” Ostrow said. “It’s a really unique way to leverage our skills in terms of crisis response. It’s definitely a multifaceted job for sure, but we feel like we’re really filling a need in the community.”