Police Social Worker
The Hendersonville Police Department has a Social Worker Program that allows a full-time social worker to receive referrals directly from officers or during a co-response.
Embedded social workers can support clients more long-term, building trusting relationships that allow them to provide follow up care and effective referrals to additional services that may be needed. As they are embedded within local communities and serve the same jurisdiction as the agency with which they work, their response times can also be significantly shorter than regional crisis response teams that serve large rural areas. At the same time, embedded police social workers can support effective coordination of additional community services. Rather than replacing existing services, police social workers can provide a key connection point for crisis response teams, behavioral health and addiction treatment programs, homeless services, domestic violence and sexual assault agencies, and individuals in the community who interact with law enforcement.
HPD's program is based on the Community Care Program developed and founded by Katy Allen, MSW and Cyndy Caravelis, PHD in partnership with the Sylva Police Department.
Program Objectives
The Police Social Worker Program has five program objectives:
- Toolbox: Expand the law enforcement toolbox by increasing officer response options beyond arrests, citations, and warnings.
- Solutions: Promote long-term solutions for community members in need through connection with appropriate resources.
- Safety: Promote safety of officers and community members through increased opportunities for de-escalation and proactive, pre-crisis intervention.
- Harm Reduction: Reduce the risk of trauma from negative interactions between law enforcement and community members.
- Efficiency: Reduce officer workload and streamline officer workflow.
Benefits of an embedded social worker include:
- Efficient use of law enforcement resources
- Officer increased awareness of social determinants of health
- Officer trauma support
- Decreased calls for welfare checks, suspicious person calls, repeat calls
- Increased collaboration amongst all services
- Reduced risk of trauma and increased safety for community members
- Increased referrals to agencies/community services
- Positive relationships for agencies and law enforcement
Social Worker Program News
Meet Cammy Holt
The Hendersonville Police Department’s Social Worker is Cammy Holt. She is an intern completing her Master’s in Social Work at Western Carolina University and brings a background in cybersecurity and mental health services to her role.
Before joining the department, she served as the Administrative Assistant at Black Mountain Counseling Center, a nonprofit dedicated to making mental health care accessible to all. Her experience there fueled her passion for helping others and supporting those experiencing crisis and trauma.
As an embedded social worker, she works alongside officers as a crisis response specialist, providing de-escalation, intervention, and referrals in situations involving domestic violence, child abuse, mental health crises, and other emotionally challenging incidents. She’ll also help connect individuals and families to community resources, ensuring they receive the ongoing support they need.
When asked about her new role at HPD, Cammy said “Like our officers at the Hendersonville Police Department, I want to help people. My passion drives me, and I’m very excited to be here.”
Outside of work, she enjoys coffee, plants, being outdoors, and long drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway. She also has a dog named Bruno and two chinchillas, Violet and Orbit.
