ROWAN-CABARRUS COMMUNITY COLLEGE -- Law enforcement officers are learning more about people who live with mental illness and addiction through a PBH program.

PBH is the area mental health provider for Rowan, Stanly, Mecklenburg, Union and Cabarrus counties. This is the agency’s second week-long Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement officers.

Friday, 27 officers graduated from the 40-hour seminar that gives them a glimpse into a life with severe mental illness.

The officers wore headsets with CDs playing voices and noises. Experts say it's similar to what someone with mental illness may hear inside their head -- while on the outside, they appear to be fine.

Lashay Avery is leading the training. She said someone with mental illness, developmental disabilities or addiction is not always obviously different. “It's not always recognizable. It's not always visible. The person may look what we consider to be ‘normal’ but definitely be on medication, have been hospitalized,” she said.

The Crisis Intervention Training provides a snapshot of what it's like to live with mental illness.

The officers listened to the CD voices and were given several exercises to accomplish. In one exercise they had to read several paragraphs then answer questions on the back of the sheet. In another exercise, they had to duplicate shapes with several matchsticks. Their furrowed eyebrows and long thoughtful pauses showed how the basic tasks were complicated.

Officer Eric Williams has 14 years experience with the Salisbury Police Department. He was one of the officers who listened to the headphone voices. “When [someone with a mental illness] encounters us or anybody else in the public it shows how difficult it is for them to digest what we're trying to say or understand what we're trying to say or do the things we are asking them to do.”

He said this training will most definitely help him do a better job. “It goes beyond just doing your regular job it's actually taking a little time and having some compassion about the public and just trying to help them out in another facet.”

Participating officers earn continuing education credits to help them meet their annual law enforcement training requirements.

They receive training in understanding mental illness, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, brain theory, personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the effects of psychotropic medications.

The program emphasizes safety first and teaches crisis intervention and verbal de-escalation techniques that reduce the risk of harm to officers and people with mental illness in crisis situations.

”We like to think of it as another tool in their tool belt,” said Avery. “People don't just commit crimes, there's always an underlying issue as to what may have led them on that path of crime.”

The officers in the training hope hearing the other side of what they can't see will help them solve the real problems. For more information, click HERE.