On a cold, February day in Raleigh County, West Virginia, a warm cup of coffee and a simple act of compassion helped de-escalate a community member experiencing a mental health crisis.
Sergeant BJ Adkins of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office and his partner, Deputy Tyler Gore, were dispatched to a call where a woman was in her family graveyard located behind her home, armed with a gun, and threatening to take her own life if anyone approached. When the deputies arrived, they found her lying beside the gravestone of her deceased son. She was refusing assistance and warning officers, “If anyone comes closer, you will see something you don’t want to see,” implying she would harm herself.
Drawing on his work with the Southern West Virginia Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) and the CIT training he’d received, Sergeant Adkins began speaking calmly and respectfully with the woman, encouraging her to put down the firearm. Using a compassionate, person-centered approach, he focused on building trust with her, rather than forcing compliance. Sergeant Adkins noticed the woman was visibly shivering from being out in the cold. He asked Deputy Gore to bring him a cup of coffee, which he offered to her, and then opened the gate to the fence that was separating them. He sat down beside her and simply talked.
This small but powerful gesture marked a turning point in their encounter. Until that moment, the woman had refused to allow anyone near her and had rejected all offers of help. Through conversation—and the simple, humane act of sharing a cup of coffee—she began to feel heard, understood, and supported.
The deputies learned that the woman was distraught over her son’s passing nearly 16 years earlier. Compounding her grief, her husband was battling cancer, and she was struggling emotionally with incidents she had witnessed while working with a local fire department. Throughout the encounter with the deputies, she made several statements indicating that she intended to end her life.
After a while, the woman eventually agreed to accept help. Sergeant Adkins offered her a hug and escorted her away from the graveyard back to her home, where EMS personnel were waiting to provide care and support.
Sergeant Adkins first received CIT training in 2023 and has since used it on multiple occasions to help individuals in crisis, as well as to improve outcomes on non-crisis-related calls for service. He believes that implementing the CIT model has made a significant impact on both his professional approach and the community he serves.
To learn more about NCPI’s work with organizations like the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office that are working to improve crisis response systems in their communities, please visit the CIT ASSIST program page.