SYLVA, N.C November 8 2022 Police departments across the country are exploring better ways to respond to calls, and that includes Sylva Police Department.

There’s a new approach by the Sylva Police Department through its partnership with social work interns from Western Carolina University.

Sylva Police Chief Chris Hatton said the Community Care Program partnership with WCU is working, as it has already helped de-escalate a number of situations since it was implemented.

Hatton said he knows high-profile use-of-force cases have forced police departments to make reforms.

“I feel like our country spoke out and said, ‘We don’t like the way things are happening with policing and we want something different,’” said Hatton. “Everybody said they were upset; nobody gave us any solutions.”

But in Sylva, Western Carolina University entered the room and suggested the use of university social work interns to help with police calls.

“We started placing social work interns here with the Sylva Police Department in the fall of 2021,” said Katy Allen, Director of Field Education for Western’s Social Work Department.

She and her colleague, Cyndy Caravelis, said most calls are not criminal in nature; rather, they mostly consist of people dealing with homelessness, substance use, poverty and mental health issues who need direction to resources.

“Sometimes, those problems are better addressed by a conversation with a social worker than an interaction with a law enforcement officer that might trigger a lot of native emotions or fear,” Allen said.

“Their options are citation, warning, jail. They don’t have access to long-term solutions,” said Caravelis.

Chief Hatton said having the option for an officer to call for a social worker — or even have a co-response — is working.

“The person that we’re dealing with is getting better service from our police department. Our officers are learning about social work, seeing new, different tactics get used, and the social work intern is getting valuable experience,” he said.

Galadriel Levere is one of those social workers — a grad student at WCU.

“Of course, the scene is secured before I get out of the car,” she said. “It’s very rewarding to see a situation that could have turned negative for all those involved quickly, to something that could be talked through.”

Hatton spoke of an example of an interaction with a man down on his luck.

“He got there in our lobby and cried for 30 minutes or so with our social worker. He said, ‘I’ve never been treated so well, nevertheless by the police.’ You can’t put that in a graph,” Hatton said. “You can’t put that on a chart. It’s powerful.”

He said he hopes to secure some grant money so he can expand the program.

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