By Ryan McClinton | Special to the OBSERVER
When my sister was having a mental health crisis, I had to ask myself: Where in Sacramento can I get her the care she needs? I realized my only option was to call the police. This scared me, and I could see fear on my mom’s face, too.
As a Black family, we worry about interactions with police, especially in situations that police are not best equipped to handle. We’ve heard about and witnessed circumstances where police are called to assist someone having a mental health episode and that person ends up arrested, injured or killed.
Instead of calling 9-1-1, I was able to call the police lieutenant directly and ask for a responder with training for these situations. The responding police officers kept their distance and didn’t escalate, but they were not able to help, either. I eventually took my sister to a hospital to receive care. We avoided a harmful outcome, but we need a system that is better set up for people experiencing mental health crises to access treatment.
Data-Driven Solutions
88% of California registered voters want major changes to our emergency response system. This statistic comes from an opinion poll conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies at the University of California, Berkeley that Public Health Advocates released in late May. The poll also shows 69% of California voters want behavioral health professionals to respond to non-life threatening situations.
To find data-driven solutions, we must look closely at call data from 9-1-1 dispatch centers and study the demand. How often are police or firefighters responding to mental health crises or homelessness? Studying that data is not easy because 9-1-1 call data is not publicly available in California.
The full story can be read here: https://sacobserver.com/2023/06/to-improve-the-9-1-1-system-lets-start-with-data-transparency/
Ryan McClinton is a program manager with Public Health Advocates in Sacramento. Public Health Advocates works with communities to establish policies, systems and norms that promote health and racial justice.
