Advocates Clinician Honored at Watertown Police Department Ceremony

Advocates employee Eli Miller was honored at Watertown Police Department’s January 11 Awards Night. The annual event recognizes hard work, dedication, and excellence among members of the department. Eli, an Advocates employee who is embedded within the department as a co-response jail diversion clinician, received multiple awards.

At the event, Watertown Police Chief Justin Hanrahan presented Eli with two Meritorious Unit Service Awards in recognition of his work de-escalating and peacefully resolving two crisis situations. Chief Hanrahan also presented Eli with service bars and a service medal, further highlighting his contributions to the Watertown Police Department.

Through Advocates co-response program, mental health clinicians respond alongside law enforcement on service calls where mental health or substance use may be involved. We recently spoke with Eli about his experience as a co-response clinician.

When asked about his path to becoming a co-response clinician, Eli shared that he began his social work training expecting to find work within a school setting, as his previous professional experience had been with youth and families. However, his first-year internship with the Cambridge Mental Health Court changed his career trajectory. Through that role, he witnessed both the need for service and the impact that social workers could make within the criminal justice system.

Eli has now worked as a co-response clinician with the Watertown Police Department for two years, not counting the year he lived with his fiancée in Borneo while she pursued her doctoral degree. During his year abroad, Eli remained in touch with Advocates and committed to his work in Watertown. Eli’s extraordinary commitment to the co-response mission did not go unnoticed. Assistant Director of Jail Diversion Services Cara Caissie shared, “Eli is an invaluable asset to both our team and our police partners. His dedication to the co-response model and its mission is evident in all that he does.”  

The varied tasks and fast pace of co-response are a good match for Eli’s work style, allowing him to find order within an unpredictable experience. He mentioned that while mental health calls are a co-response clinician’s primary focus, he’s also tasked with responding to 911 calls involving substance use, domestic incidents, car accidents, sudden deaths, violent crimes, medical crises, and more.

While rewarding, co-response can be intense and stressful, and Eli finds work-life balance by spending time outdoors. In his free time, he enjoys running, hiking, walking his dog, and coaching an adult women’s soccer team.

Reflecting on his recent honors, Eli focused on what he has learned from working in co-response. “You never know what kind of day a stranger is having. Providing a bit of light for people during their darkest moments is what co-response is all about.”