TULSA, Okla. — In February, COPES with Family and Children's Services got approval to expand its operations, nearly doubling its workforce.
COPES is the Community Outreach Psychiatric Emergency Services. It offers a variety of services for Tulsa and surrounding areas, focusing on mental health and suicide intervention and prevention.
These new jobs added more boots on the ground in Green Country. 2 News first heard about the expansion in early August after reaching out for another story.
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Officials with COPES exclusively told 2 News about extended hours for the COPES clinician's house in 911 dispatch.
Then, less than a week later the organization announced this rapid growth in the past six months.
"We know crisis doesn't happen Monday through Friday, 9 to 5," said COPES Vice President Amanda Bradley.
"It typically happens when individuals are alone or after hours so us being able to have the resources and availability to respond in the moment when an individual needs us it's extremely important," she said.
She told 2 News the team assisted in 14,661 calls in 2024 so far.
Since starting the expansion, it's seen a 51% increase in mobile responses, which is when teams go into the community firsthand. They also have the Community Response Programs that partner COPES clinicians with police and fire to respond to calls.
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"We get calls from police officers, schools. Just about anybody you can think of that would be a part of their support system. That's usually how our calls begin," said COPES Clinical Supervisor John Mulligan.
They showed 2 News how the calls work, simulating a typical call.
With the larger staff, they've also doubled their mobile response units, including school crisis response teams. Those teams are dispatched to schools in an emergency to provide counseling services to students and staff after a crisis.
They also provide education to try and prevent a mental health crisis.
"We are a mobile response team for 988 in Tulsa County and surrounding areas," said Mulligan.
If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, you can call 988 or reach copes at (918) 744-4800.
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