The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office presented a check for $8,000 to Ann Marie Suriano, Chair of the Mental Health Collaborative of Indian River County, earlier this week.

“This is the largest check we’ve been able to contribute to a non-profit from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund”, explained Sheriff Deryl Loar. “There is a critical link between mental health services and crime prevention, we fully appreciate the work the Collaborative is doing.”

Founded in 2004, the Mental Health Collaborative of Indian River County is comprised of private and public funders, mental health providers, and individuals who work to increase access, decrease duplication and facilitate community wide support of mental health issues.

“We certainly value the financial support,” said Ann Marie Suriano, Chair of the Collaborative, “but we’re also grateful for the effective working relationship we have with law enforcement. That’s what collaboration is all about.”

The vision of the Collaborative is to provide a seamless delivery of mental health care services unlike any other in the state of Florida. The Collaborative seeks to engage and build trust among individuals, government agencies, law enforcement and mental health providers to transform the continuum of care into an effective system. The Mental Health Collaborative of Indian River County grew out of the United Way Community Planning Committee, which had been studying barriers to quality mental health care for