As communities explore ways to divert behavioral health and quality of life crises from law enforcement, they’re also asking when and how to best collaborate with police in the safest and least restrictive way for people in distress. This shift is necessary for people overall, says Dr. Margie Balfour, chief
In the City of Austin, when a person dials 911, the call taker asks, “Are you calling for police, fire, EMS, or mental health services?” Adding mental health as an option is groundbreaking and allows people in the community to identify whether a psychiatric concern precipitated the call or is
Victor Armstrong, MSW, says, as it exists now, the behavioral health system is inherently flawed for African Americans, pointing out that treatment modalities and the way they’re framed “don’t take into account the nuances of race, culture, or ethnicity.” Armstrong, who is the director of the North Carolina Division for
Matthew L. Goldman, M.D., M.S., medical director of Comprehensive Crisis Services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, says communities need to buckle down now to ensure that 988, the three-digit number the FCC designated to mirror 911 for mental health and suicide crises, fulfills its potential when it
Developed by Crisis Now, the 'It’s Been a Bad Day' video goes through the divergent paths people experience in the United States when having a mental health crisis as opposed to a medical one.
Nick Margiotta, president of Crisis System Solutions and retired Phoenix police officer, says law enforcement are critical stakeholders in behavioral health crisis services.
Many people experiencing mental health crises in Virginia find themselves in the back of police vehicles, driven to the nearest hospital, which is sometimes hours away. In 2018, there were 25,000 involuntary detentions and police transported 99 percent of them. This will soon change as the Virginia Department of Behavioral
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