SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - For the past three years, the Springfield Police Department has been working with SIU and Memorial Behavioral Health to get more mental health resources into the community.

"We understand that we cannot fix mental illness. We need to get them to the people that can, so by partnering with MBH and SIU, we are able to get them to those people," said Matt Doss, who is the supervisor for the neighborhood policing unit.

The program teams a police officer up with a mental health counselor so that they can go out on calls in the community together.

Sara Anderson, manager for Memorial Behavioral Health complex care team and care coordination program, said this program allows them to provide more preventative mental health care.

"This effort allows me to literally put that person in my car and go and help them at Gateway or go and help them at the hospital, so it's really closing those care gaps and promoting the success for that individual in the community with all those different layers and needs," Anderson said. 

There are currently five police officers involved, including 25-year veteran officer Steve Termine. He said the impact this program has makes it rewarding to be a part of.

"A lot of the results you get are very rewarding when you see the difference you can make in someone life," Termine said. 

Termine said he has seen many success stories of people getting the help they need for their mental illness.

"It's a very heartwarming thing when you can see the families come back into somebody's life that have been detached because of illnesses and things that they may not have control over," he said. 

In the future, officials plan to expand the program.