As the Heroes Among Us sponsor, T.V.P. helped equip conference volunteers and shared our mission with more than 1,550 crisis-response professionals and community partners.
When someone reaches a crisis point, the response they receive can change the course of their life.
Compassion, preparation, and connection can mean the difference between escalation and a path toward safety, treatment, and hope. That belief was at the heart of the 2026 CIT International Conference in Orlando, Florida, where more than 1,550 attendees gathered to learn, share, and strengthen the systems that respond when people need help most.
Til Valhalla Project (T.V.P.) was proud to support the conference as a major sponsor at the Heroes Among Us level. We also created custom co-branded shirts for the volunteers who helped bring the event to life. Throughout the conference, we had the opportunity to connect with professionals from across the crisis-response field, listen to their experiences, and share our mission to Honor Fallen Military and First Responders while reducing Veteran suicide.
What Is CIT?
CIT stands for Crisis Intervention Team, but CIT International emphasizes that CIT is more than a training course. It is a community-based program that brings together law enforcement, mental health and addiction professionals, people with lived experience, families, and other community partners to improve the response to mental health and addiction crises.
The goal is to create a crisis-response system that is compassionate, effective, and as minimally intrusive as possible. CIT programs help people access appropriate medical and mental health care instead of entering the criminal justice system solely because of behaviors related to illness or addiction. They also work to reduce stigma, strengthen community partnerships, identify gaps in available services, and build lasting solutions that continue long after an individual crisis has ended.
The CIT model, often called the Memphis Model, was first developed in 1988 and has since spread across the United States and to communities around the world. CIT International supports that work through best-practice standards, education, certification, technical assistance, and gatherings like its annual international conference.
A National Community Focused on Better Crisis Response
The breadth of the 2026 conference reflected just how many people and systems are involved in compassionate crisis response. The agenda included sessions on de-escalation, 988 call diversion, law-enforcement and clinician co-response, peer support, suicide prevention, officer wellness, trauma-informed care, rural crisis systems, family collaboration, and pathways away from incarceration and toward treatment.
Several sessions also focused specifically on the military-connected community, including Veteran crisis response, the transition from military to civilian life, PTSD, and supporting Veterans who serve in law enforcement. Other conversations addressed first responder mental health and suicide prevention - subjects that connect directly to the people and purpose behind T.V.P.
These were not abstract discussions. They represented real calls, real families, real responders, and real opportunities to save lives. The people gathered in Orlando brought different roles and perspectives, but they shared a commitment to helping communities respond with greater knowledge, coordination, dignity, and care.
Custom Shirts That Carried a Shared Mission
At T.V.P., we have always believed that apparel can carry more than a design - it can carry a message. For the 2026 CIT International Conference, we were honored to provide custom co-branded shirts created for the volunteers who welcomed attendees, answered questions, supported conference operations, and helped keep an event of this size moving.
The shirts gave the volunteer team a unified, recognizable presence while visibly bringing CIT International and T.V.P. together. More importantly, they represented the values behind both organizations: service, compassion, connection, and the belief that no one should face a crisis without support.
The partnership was a natural fit. CIT International works to strengthen the way communities respond to people experiencing mental health and addiction crises. T.V.P. works to Honor Fallen Heroes, preserve their Legacies, and help Veterans access life-saving care before their names ever appear on a memorial. Both missions begin with the same human truth: people in pain deserve to be seen, heard, and connected to help.
Connections That Will Continue Beyond the Conference
One of the most meaningful parts of the conference was the opportunity to connect with so many dedicated people working throughout the industry. We met CIT coordinators, law-enforcement professionals, clinicians, mental health leaders, peer supporters, First Responders, advocates, and community partners who understand what is at stake when someone reaches a breaking point.
We listened as they shared what is working in their communities, the challenges they continue to face, and the reasons they remain committed to this demanding work. In return, we shared how the T.V.P. mission began, why we create and deliver handmade memorial plaques to the families of Fallen Heroes at no cost to them, and how a portion of our net proceeds helps fund therapy for Veterans at the highest risk of suicide.
Those conversations mattered. They allowed us to introduce the mission to people who work every day at the intersection of service, trauma, mental health, and hope. They also reminded us that meaningful sponsorship is about far more than a logo. It is about showing up, learning from others, building relationships, and finding new ways to support the people doing life-saving work in their communities.
A Shared Commitment to Hope
We are grateful to CIT International for welcoming T.V.P. into this extraordinary community and for creating a space where ideas could be shared, difficult subjects could be discussed honestly, and lasting connections could begin. We also extend our sincere thanks to every volunteer who represented the conference in a T.V.P. co-branded shirt and helped make the gathering possible.
The conference may have ended, but the work continues in dispatch centers, patrol cars, hospitals, treatment programs, peer-support networks, firehouses, homes, and communities across the country. T.V.P. is proud to stand alongside those choosing compassion in moments of crisis and carrying hope to people who need it most.
Learn more about CIT International and the CIT model. To learn more about how T.V.P. Honors Fallen Heroes and supports struggling Veterans, explore the T.V.P. mission.
