Utica, NY – The Neighborhood Center is proud to announce that Kellie Kiesel, a Counselor with the Crisis Response Team (CRT), was honored by The Genesis Group at the 2025 Healthcare Excellence Awards for her outstanding service and transformative impact on mental health response in the Mohawk Valley.
Kellie’s work through the CRT has changed the way the Utica community approaches behavioral health crises. With her calm demeanor, compassion, and exceptional de-escalation skills, she has earned the trust of both the community and law enforcement officers—many of whom turn to her for guidance and support on the most challenging calls.
“Kellie is truly exceptional,” said Sandra Soroka, Executive Director of The Neighborhood Center. “Her ability to connect with individuals in crisis and ensure they’re treated with dignity and care is what makes the CRT so effective—and so essential.”
The CRT is a co-responder program, pairing mental health professionals with police officers to respond to active mental health calls. The team also conducts proactive follow-ups with anyone in the city who has been involuntarily hospitalized and accepts referrals from family members, officers, community organizations, and individuals themselves. The program was the first of its kind in the area, working to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, ease the burden on emergency rooms, and offer meaningful connections before a crisis escalates.
At the awards ceremony, CRT Officer Marissa Vomer, Kiesel’s partner in the field, participated in a panel discussion about the program’s preventative and community-based approach, noting, “Public safety and mental health are NOT two separate spheres—they overlap, and when they’re integrated, everybody benefits.”
In 2024 alone, the CRT made over 1,100 community contacts, helping to reduce emergency calls for mental health crises by more than 200 incidents—a clear sign of how proactive outreach is changing lives.
“We’re not just responding to crises,” said Vomer. “We’re trying to prevent them. When we reach people early, before they hit a breaking point, we give them a real chance at stability and recovery.”
The mission of The Neighborhood Center, Inc. is to enrich the lives of individuals and families through cooperative opportunities, resources and advocacy which embrace diversity, promote empowerment, and foster responsible citizenship. Through its sustained pattern of activities that benefit children, families and the community since 1905, The Neighborhood Center, Inc. continues to advance in our enduring mission of truly “human” service.
For more information about The Neighborhood Center, call (315) 272-2600, or visit www.neighborhoodctr.org
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