CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Local police departments across West Virginia are adopting peer liaisons to work collaboratively on community issues related to mental health, substance use disorder and homelessness.

Peer liaisons embed within the department to assist in outreach, de-escalation and connection to resources, representing a new strategy for managing complex social crises.

The day-to-day work for a peer liaison is always different, said Erica Bennett, peer liaison for the Buckhannon Police Department.

“My routine looks pretty different every day,” she said. “It depends on what’s going on in the community and if there are community meals being handed out, a community event that I’m set up at or doing outreach and visiting encampments.”

The only thing that remains consistent every day is

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