Increased Demand in Mental Health Services Creating Shortfalls Within Crisis Assistance
(Eugene, OR) Eugene’s alternatives to armed police response, including White Bird Clinic’s nationally lauded CAHOOTS program, are an example of best practices but aren’t without challenges. CAHOOTS stands for Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets. The service operated completely separate from EPD for the first two decades but began its first shift funded by […]
Montreal’s First Defund the Police Festival
Montreal’s first ever Defund the Police Festival was held in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on Saturday afternoon. Organizers say the growing movement is often misunderstood and to really get down to the root cause, education and prevention is required. “The purpose is really to bring community together, you know, to gather and have a good time, as well […]
Successful First Year for Orlando’s Community Response Team
(Orlando, Florida) It’s been over a year since the Community Response Team pilot launched in Orlando. Last year, the Orlando Police Department partnered with Aspire Health to create Community Response Teams, which have trained mental health professionals who respond to non-violent calls that require mental health support. In the first year of the program, the […]
Lawrence County Creating More Efficient Mental Health Response Models
(Lawrence County, Pennsylvania) Many municipalities are adopting a mental health alternative to 911 calls. For example, multiple counties in Pennsylvania pairs a mental health responder to a designated officer. However, Lawrence County has identified some issues with that model and have pivoted to a more efficient method. According to the district attorney, “This model is based […]
Portland’s new public safety program
A new public safety program has been launched in Portland as an alternative to sending police to mental health calls and homelessness. The program, Portland Street Response, will comprise of teams of five. The five members will consist of a firefighter, a paramedic, a mental health clinician and two community health workers. According to the […]
New St. Louis Program Redirects Mental Health Calls From 911
Calls involving people with mental health issues, or in a mental crisis, may be diverted to specially trained behavioral health professionals in St. Louis. Tiffany Lacy Clark, COO of the contractor involved in the program, Behavioral Health Response, said the broader goals of the program are to relieve police and EMS workers from responding to many […]