City set to partner mental health clinicians and police responding to calls related to mental health, as governor signs statewide measure
Chicago TribuneAug 25, 2021
Mental health clinicians will be partnered with
The rollout of the much-debated and anticipated co-responder pilot program, which will include police officers trained in mental health response, was highlighted at a Wednesday roundtable discussion Mayor
The Monday start does not include a second alternative response model, one that fully substitutes mental health clinicians for officers, that was preferred by several aldermen and community organizations.
But
“What we heard from our mental health partners is people were comfortable with a phased approach,” Richards said. “We are really committed to this and we are building for the long haul. We want to approach it in a very responsible manner that assures our patients, our team are being supported the best possible way.”
Activists and aldermen supporting a non-police model had called for a plan to allow clinicians and paramedics to respond to non-life-threatening calls through a dedicated emergency line.
To many, police officers simply are not equipped to respond to calls of people experiencing mental health-related distress. They argue the very presence of police, with sirens, flashing lights and guns, can increase anxiety and tension. In communities of color, the concern over how police will respond to a person in crisis is even greater, considering the long-standing mistrust minority communities have for officers and the fact that recent high-profile police-abuse deaths have involved Black victims.
Indeed, the mayor’s plan was met with criticism from the groups who have been lobbying for the non-police version of such a plan, saying the pilot also appears too small.
“The fear and escalation with the police presence is always going to be a problem,” said
When asked Wednesday by the media about the commitment to a non-police model, Lightfoot responded by saying: “The answer is unequivocally yes, because we also know in certain circumstances, particularly when we are looking at people that are OD’ing, people that are having mental health crisis related to drug addiction, police are never the best answer. Will they be somewhere in the periphery to make sure everything is fine? The answer is yes. We want to see what are the right circumstances for a clinician-only response.”
The new response is modest at its start — two separate teams that include a paramedic, clinician and police officer assigned to ride together over one shift in the Gresham and
Lightfoot’s comments came as Gov.
Known as the
The state will provide training and guidance to mobile health units and police officers aimed at equipping them to respond to those events.
State Rep.
Pritzker said the pandemic has exacerbated the need for improved mental health services, saying more than half of Illinoisans reported a decline in their mental wellness during the COVID-19 outbreak and mitigation orders that followed. He also signed into law another measure making
“This is a sea change that will not only help Illinoisans get the care that they need, but will reaffirm our commitment to the basic principle that just like physical health, mental health care is essential not optional,” Pritzker said.
Sponsoring state Sen.
“We are facing two public health crises right now: COVID-19, and an ongoing mental health and addiction crisis that has been made worse by this pandemic,” she said. “However, too often, we’ve seen that when people try to access treatment, they are wrongfully denied care because their health plan will not tell them it is medically necessary.”
At Wednesday’s event in
The campaign, which launches Monday, will include links to a website that has a resource finder and testimonials of Chicagoans telling their stories of mental health struggles and recovery.
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