Program In Oregon Calls In Mental Health Experts To Handle Crises Instead Of Having Cops Respond First
Although more and more police departments are offering mental health training from their officers, experts say professionals are the best ones to handle crises. A model in Oregon could act as a blueprint for other communities across the country.
The Wall Street Journal:
When Mental-Health Experts, Not Police, Are The First Responders
They are the kind of calls that roll into police departments with growing regularity: a man in mental crisis; a woman hanging out near a dumpster at an upscale apartment complex; a homeless woman in distress. In most American cities, it is police officers who respond to such calls, an approach law-enforcement experts say increases the risk of a violent encounter because they aren’t always adequately trained to deal with the mentally ill. At least one in every four people killed by police has a serious mental illness, according to the Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit based in Arlington, Va. (Elinson, 11/24)
In other mental health news —
Boston Globe:
Mental Health Therapy At Walmart? It’s Now A Thing
A Boston company is taking the concept of retail health care to a new level — offering mental health treatment in a Walmart. Beacon Health Options, which manages mental health care for 40 million people, has opened a small clinic in the discount department store in Carrollton, Texas. The company plans to roll out the program in other retail locations nationwide, with the goal of increasing access to mental health care. (Freyer, 11/26)
The CT Mirror:
School-Based Health Centers Take Leading Role In Fighting Teen Suicide
Although the number of youth in Connecticut who have committed suicide has fluctuated in recent years, making it difficult to identify a trend, mental health professionals who work with teenagers say that depression and anxiety – the typical reasons for suicide – are definitely on the rise. Between 2012 and 2017, there was an 11 percent increase in the number of mental health visits at school-based health centers, according to the Department of Public Health (DPH). Mental health visits now make up 41 percent of total visits to the school-based centers. (Werth, 11/23)
