WHEELING — The city of Wheeling now has what Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger believes is West Virginia’s only law enforcement crisis intervention training program.

The program involves specialized training for officers on how to deal with people with substance abuse problems, autism-spectrum disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.

“This program provides a better understanding of the various types of mental crises and when someone may be experiencing a mental crisis,” said Schwertfeger, who is excited to bring the program to Wheeling.

Schwertfeger has been trying to implement a crisis intervention team for several years, he said.

“I started here (in Wheeling) five years ago, and one of the things I wanted to bring from my former employer was a program for crisis intervention. I thought it was very beneficial for officers,” Schwertfeger, who previously worked at the Albemarle County, Va, Police Department, said.

Although other states have similar programs, the training has been designed specifically for the state of West Virginia and its unique laws and regulations.

The program operates through funding from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

Wheeling applied for a grant in 2014 for a crisis intervention program, but was not approved for the funding.

Although it took time, the program became a reality this year.

The crisis intervention program requires 40 hours of training over five days of instruction. Shadowing is required during training at places such as Youth Services System and Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center.

Training also includes classroom instruction and a collaboration of exercises provided by mental health professionals, subject-matter experts and law enforcement instructors.

The only officers that are required to take this training course are those that are crisis negotiators, but there have been 35 graduates of the course in just two weeks from Wheeling, Morgantown and Martinsburg.

“These are the types of guys that step up and don’t need to be asked,” Schwertfeger said of his officers who have been through the program.

Schwertfeger said the training is already paying dividends.

He recalled a recent situation in which an officer dealt with a woman in Elm Grove who was having a mental health issue.

Schwertfeger said the officer put the crisis intervention training to good use and the woman’s family was pleasantly surprised at how well the situation was handled.

Just because someone may be homeless or addicted to drugs doesn’t mean they can’t be helped, Schwertfeger said.

“It makes more sense to talk to these people and help them rather than putting them in jail. We’re trying to help people with this training and give them a chance to see that there is another way,” he said.