Pasco Sheriff In Running For 2022 Rise Award

PASCO COUNTY, FL — The Pasco County Sheriff's Office is in the running for a 2022 Rise Award.

The Rise Awards, presented by Axon, celebrates agencies that have made strides in building up their communities.

The sheriff's office has made it a priority to make the community a safer place for all to live, work and play under the motto “We Fight as One.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the sheriff's office recognized that some communities were in need of stable food sources, so it initiated free food distributions and reached out to partners like local churches and groups, such as the Pasco County NAACP, to help coordinate these.

In 2021, several sheriff's units decided to host a hygiene items drive after school resource officers noticed the need to have such items available for students that may not have these basics at home. This drive stocked supply closets at Pasco schools with many items readily-available to students.

In 2019, the sheriff's office created the Behavioral Health Intervention Team, which reaches out to frequent users of emergency services to connect them to community-based resources and dismantle barriers for issues residents may face, such as houselessness and mental health issues.

The sheriff's office is also working toward opening its first community office at a local shopping mall to provide a safe, interactive space for residents to meet deputies that serve their community.

Deputies often identify needs, great and small, that have the opportunity to make a difference from a simple high five at a gas station to creating events like Tip-A-Deputy to raise money for cancer research.

If selected as a winner, the sheriff's office will receive a $7,500 grant for Pasco Sheriffs Charities, which goes back to the community by supporting Pace Center for Girls, Sunrise Domestic Violence Shelter, Pasco Sheriff’s K9 Association, the mounted posse and jeep units and other nonprofit services.

Vote for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office by clicking here.

Vote once a day until voting closes March 18.