The 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training came to a close Friday afternoon with a graduation ceremony at the Warsaw Police Department training facility.
The graduates in the third cohort of first responders were not only from Kosciusko County, but also Goshen Fire Department and Allen County Community Corrections.
Mikaela Bixler, Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory CARES (Community Assistance Resources & Emergency Services) coordinator, told them, “So we’re in the 40th hour of training and by now I hope all of our trainees have realized that this week is about a lot more than just training. I have a sticky note on the wall in my office that says, ‘It’s not a job, it’s a mission.’ I don’t just come to work every day to do a job. I wake up every morning and I come to work because I know what it’s like to be hopeless and alone. I want to do everything I can - realistically do - to help other people not feel that way, and to make sure no one ever has to be alone.”
That mission directly relates to the mission of the CIT program, she stated.
“It’s about creating and supporting a network of trained people in the community. People behind the headsets, people on the streets, people in the jail, people wherever they are that have the back of the community and will be there so no one is really truly alone,” Bixler said.

    Pictured (L to R) at Friday’s Crisis Intervention Team training are Chris Francis, Warsaw Police Department; and Mikaela Bixler and Tanya Jackson, Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory CARES. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

CIT is about improving the systems that “we all use and operate by, from the decision-makers to the boots on the ground. But at this point, it’s about taking a step back from the things we do and remembering that every single one of us in this room is human and that we all need help sometimes,” she stated.
Guest speaker Sheriff Jim Smith began his comments by asking for a round of applause for Bixler; Tanya Jackson, CARES community health coordinator; and WPD officer Chris Francis, coordinator on the law enforcement side for the Kosciusko County CIT stakeholder group.
“Without these three, this doesn’t happen,” Smith said. “We appreciate you.”
He then told the graduates, “You ought to be proud of yourselves. I’ve been able to come in here a couple times this week and talk about various different things. I love the enthusiasm, the participation and just the willingness to perfect our crafts and help ourselves do better at what we do, and learn more. Because, as I was told when I got into this profession, the day you quit learning is the day you probably need to be done because it’s always changing.”
Taking the CIT training is doing something different, he continued, and they should be really proud of themselves for taking the training.
Bixler thanked the class for spending 40 hours of their time this past week in the training.
She also thanked everyone who helped make the program happen, including Eric Lane and Fellowship Missions for being a chief level sponsor; Allendale Behavioral, Bowen Health and Live Well Kosciusko for being captain level sponsors; Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office, McAlister’s Deli, Dunkin Donuts, Charcuterie by the Lakes and The Cake Lady for food sponsorships.
Sensory bags were donated for the graduates by the Autism Society of Indiana and Today’s Champions.
She thanked the Warsaw Police Department for use of their training facility, and Bowen Health for providing bags for the graduates.
After the ceremony and all the graduates received their certificates, Francis said the training has evolved since the first one in May 2024.
“This time we added a specific course for the Hispanic community and then also dealing with grief,” he said. “So, in the past two classes, it’s been pretty well the same schedule and we realized as we’ve gone along that there were a couple things that would benefit us from adding onto.”
Bixler pointed out that for this group of CIT training, they had a representative of The Beaman Home. She said that was exciting to have service providers.
“I think it’s good that we had enough participants to fill a third class,” Francis said, with the next class to take place this fall. This year, they’re also going to add a refresher course for prior participants.
“I think it’s important to recognize that this program and these trainings are recognized by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). The program, like I said, isn’t just about training. All of these different stakeholders get together and work on improving the actual systems for mental health and substance abuse disorders, and how organizations respond to and help those people,” Bixler said.
Francis said the training exists because of the sponsorships and the participants.