On April 15-16, Jennings County and several Jackson County stakeholders from agencies including local government, the criminal justice system, mental health providers (including those with lived experience and peer support) and social services providers participated in a workshop to develop a “map” to illustrate and guide how people with behavioral health needs encounter and flow through the criminal justice system.

The workshop was called Sequential Intercept Model Mapping. The two main goals of the workshop were to plot resources and gaps in mental health services and to utilize those services to support diversion from the criminal justice system, according to a news release from the Jennings County SIM Mapping Planning and Steering Committee.

Then a Strategic Action Plan is structured and implemented over the next 12 to 24 months with committees meeting regularly to oversee the execution of the plan.

SIM mapping introduced leaders to emerging best practices and evidence-based solutions. It provides an environment where participants can network and share what their agency can provide to the local community. The SIM Mapping workshop gave the participants the skills to provide a more complete response to local mental health crisis events.

The SIM Mapping is offered at no cost to the host and was instructed by a team of trained and professional officials from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Indiana and Indiana SIM Mapping Network. The City of North Vernon donated the use of Elsner Hall at the Education Training Center as the location of the workshop.