Certified peers riding alongside officers to offer support, divert from charges, and connect people to recovery.
The Peer Co-Responder Project brings Certified Peer and Recovery Specialists into police vehicles so they can respond to calls together with officers, provide person-centered support during and after crises, and help people connect with behavioral health and recovery services instead of entering deeper into the justice system.
The Peer Co-Responder Project began in 2023 through a PCCD Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) grant. It was designed to bring back relationship-based community policing by pairing trained police officers with Certified Peer and Recovery Specialists in West Lampeter Township.
Peers ride in the patrol car and respond alongside officers to calls that involve behavioral health or substance use concerns. During and after those encounters, they offer non-judgmental, trauma-informed support and help people explore options for care, recovery, and follow-up instead of facing charges whenever it is safe and appropriate to do so.
The first phase focuses on training. CoRe Academy brings peers and officers together as students in classes such as Certified Recovery Specialist (CRS), Certified Peer Specialist (CPS), Forensic Peer Support, Crisis Peer Support, and Trauma Sensitive Peer Support. Learning side-by-side helps both groups understand trauma, crisis, forensics, and how to work as a team from the peer perspective.
In the second phase, Peer Co-Responders ride with officers in the community. Together they create a calmer space to talk through what is happening, connect people to services, and stay involved as needed after the initial crisis, helping address barriers like transportation, paperwork, and access to treatment and supports.
Program expansion: In March 2025, PMHCA received a VIP Expansion Grant through PCCD that extends the Peer Co-Responder Project through 2028. This expansion brings additional police departments within Lancaster County into the model and grows the role from one part-time Peer Co-Responder to three full-time Peer Co-Responders.
Measuring impact: Data is being collected to understand how this model affects community outcomes, including diversion into services and changes in recidivism for people who interact with the program.
I was there from the moment they arrived until they left — more than 45 minutes later. Not once did they rush. Not once did they dismiss or talk over this person. They spoke gently, listened to an incredibly heavy story, and treated him with genuine empathy and respect.
Watching this unfold really stayed with me. These officers — and so many first responders — step into moments like this every single day, meeting people at their most vulnerable. And they do it with patience, kindness, and humanity.
— Community witness to a mental health response involving Manheim Township Police
The West Lampeter PD Co-Response program is a collaboration between Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers’ Association, Blueprints for Addiction Recovery, Inc., and West Lampeter Township Police Department. The flyer highlights four key focus areas that guide how peers and officers work together.
Peer Recovery Specialists partner with law enforcement to safely screen, connect, and refer people to behavioral health care and recovery supports, drawing on their own lived experience.
The program is built on partnership between peers, police, and community stakeholders. Joint planning and shared goals support outreach, community engagement, and safer responses to behavioral health crises.
Trauma-informed approaches are used at events and in day-to-day outreach to build trust, increase engagement, and improve access to information and resources for community members and their families.
When it is appropriate, Peer Co-Responders help reduce the chances of charges by supporting diversion away from the criminal justice system and toward treatment, community services, and ongoing recovery support.
For more details about the West Lampeter PD Co-Response program, including local contact information, you can view or download the flyer.
Open the Co-Responder flyerFor questions about the Peer Co-Responder Project, partnerships, or training opportunities, please contact:
Email: PMHCA@pmhca.org
Office Phone: 717-221-1022
