Co-Responders and Embedded Advocate
°Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï the Co-Responder Program
The °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï’s Co-Responder Program is a collaborative initiative that pairs CU Police officers with Counseling and Psychiatric Services mental health clinicians to enhance campus safety and well-being. Using a co-response model that blends public safety and behavioral health expertise, the program helps de-escalate situations involving student distress, behavioral health concerns, or emotional crises, and connects individuals to appropriate campus and community resources. This partnership ensures that our CU Campus community members get the right support for their mental health concerns, in the right place, at the right time.
Beyond responding to students and community members experiencing crises on campus, the Co-Responder Program is committed to prevention and community engagement. Co-responders provide training and education for university staff and student leaders on de-escalation, crisis recognition, and trauma-informed practices, strengthening the campus-wide capacity to support mental well-being. The program also partners with other co-responder teams and community agencies throughout Colorado to support students’ needs both on and off campus. Through ongoing relationship building and joint training with CU Police officers, the program enhances officer comfort and skills to address mental health related situations, reinforcing a safety culture grounded in understanding, collaboration, and respect for our community.
°Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï the Embedded Advocate Program
TheÌýEmbedded CUPD Victim Advocate position is a collaboration between CU’s Office of Victim Assistance (OVA) and the CU °Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï Police Department (CUPD), that started in June 2021. The Embedded CUPD Advocate works at CUPD and co-responds with officers, supports victims throughout the investigatory process and outreaches on police reports to provide support to victims of crime as they navigate the criminal justice process.ÌýContact with the embedded police advocate begins ²¹´Ú³Ù±ð°ùÌýan incident has been reported to CUPD, as this role is non-confidential and embedded within the police department. The goal of this position is to help victims know their rights and options, provide support during the criminal justice process and to be a bridge to other resources.Ìý
For ongoing, ³¦´Ç²Ô´Ú¾±»å±ð²Ô³Ù¾±²¹±ôÌýadvocacy and/or counseling, the embedded police advocate will refer victims/survivors to appropriate resources both on campus and in the community, depending on campus affiliation and victim needs. When the victim is a CU affiliate and interested in ongoing trauma-specific counseling and/or navigating a campus administrative process, the embedded police advocate refers victims to the Office of Victim Assistance (OVA), a free and confidential office that can provide other advocacy support and/or trauma-specific counseling/therapy.Ìý
For more information on this role, see the
How and when to request mental health crisis support from CU Police
Crisis supports are available for concerns that are acutely distressing and require immediate support. Call CU Police at 303-492-6666 and request a welfare check if you or someone you know:
- Has thoughts of suicide or are not sure how to keep themselves safe
- Have thoughts of doing serious harm to someone and may act on them
- Believe their life is in danger
- Is hearing voices or seeing things that no one else hears or sees
- Is so disconnected from reality or distressed that they can’t take care of themselves
Be prepared to give the person of concern’s exact address (residence hall and room number if on campus) as well as the reason for your concern when you call.
Crisis resources are also available through Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS).