KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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A new program in Douglas County is helping first responders safely interact with drivers who have a variety of medical and mental health conditions.
Free State High School resource officer Bailey Salsbury introduced the Blue Envelope Program this month, and it is now available across the county at these participating agencies: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, KU Police Department, Eudora Police Department, Baldwin City Police Department, Lawrence Kansas Police Department, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical, and Mental Health Response Team.
Drivers can put their license, vehicle registration and insurance inside the envelope. On the outside, they can identify an emergency contact and any medical or mental health conditions they may have.
"They might be deaf or hard of hearing, limited vision, different medical alerts like diabetic, seizures," Salsbury said. "They might have autism, they might have Tourette's Syndrome. It really alerts us that behavior that we might normally see and perceive as an avoidant behavior, maybe like a preindicator of a fight or flight type of issue, and let us know that might actually be related to their diagnosis, so we can come at it with a different approach."
Erin Campbell is a paraeducator at Free State High School and her son, Aiden Toms, has autism. She found other law enforcement agencies in the Kansas City area utilizing the program and brought it up to Salsbury.
She said Aiden, 15, might take a driver's education course this summer.
He said he is looking forward to driving, and a blue envelope would make him feel safer on the road.
“If a cop is pulling me over and I was starting to build up social anxiety because the cops are behind me, I would first of all, stop the car, I would breathe — take my breaths — and I would find my envelope and hand it to them to let them know," Aiden said.
Campbell said Aiden's social anxiety could make him act differently.
“He may impulsively reach for something," Campbell said. "We’ve had that conversation that police are trained if someone is reaching and they haven’t asked them to, that’s unsafe for them.”
Decals for cars and house windows are also available with the Blue Envelope Program.
Salsbury says the program increases safety for both participants and first responders.
“It’s a very positive response," Salsbury said. "I’ve heard a lot more parents that are a lot more comfortable with their kids being able to drive. Just making that impact on even just the youth in addition to the entirety of the community, as an SRO, makes it worth it in my opinion.”
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