Helmsley Charitable Trust Grants Nearly $2.4 Million to Bring Virtual Crisis Care to Wyoming

News – Sheridan Media

Governor Mark Gordon and Wyoming law enforcement officials gathered in Cheyenne Tuesday to announce a major gift to help law enforcement when responding to people experiencing a mental health crisis. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has more.

Governor Gordon at Tuesday’s media conference in Cheyenne announced the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust is granting nearly $2.4 million to the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police (WASCOP) to help officers across the state’s rural and frontier landscape provide Wyoming residents in crisis with 24/7 access to behavioral health professionals via telehealth.

Virtual Crisis Care equips Wyoming law enforcement officers with tablets, allowing them to call on trained experts to de-escalate, assess, and stabilize individuals in a mental health crisis such as suicidal ideation, self-harm, or depression. The pilot program is modeled after similar Helmsley-funded efforts in South Dakota and Nevada. WASCOP Executive Director Allen Thompson explains further how the Virtual Crisis Care program works.

Thompson thanked the Helmsley Charitable Trust for the generous grant, which he said will empower the men and women in law enforcement by providing a mobile and immediate connection to the next level of care.

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Last modified: August 6, 2025