SAN ANTONIO – The Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio awarded nearly $7 million in grants to nonprofits for health-related issues on Tuesday.
The foundation gave its annual Spirit of Health Award to the San Antonio Police Department’s Mental Health Unit. The award is for organizations that are improving community health.
“These guys help keep those kinds of folks out of jail and keep them safe because they talk to them about what their problem is instead of putting handcuffs on them,” said Cody Knowlton, with Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio.
“They train officers all throughout the region, so what we want to do is we want to raise the level of awareness of officers in how to deal with people with issues with mental health,” said Deputy Chief Anthony Trevino, with the San Antonio Police Department.
The Mental Health Unit has been active for five years and is nationally recognized. Other cities creating programs are using San Antonio as an example.