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Red Flag Laws Are Saving Lives. They Could Save More.

Matt Vasilogambros

October 05, 2021 |

Stateline |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted red-flag laws, most of them since the 2018 Parkland, Fla., school shooting. The laws, also called extreme risk protection order laws, allow law enforcement officials or family members to petition courts to confiscate guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. Use of the laws has grown and advocates say they have saved lives. But the growth has been slow, largely because of widespread ignorance of the laws among the public and even police. Some states have begun to fund education and training campaigns to rectify that.

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Dealing with mental health crisis one Zoom call at a time

Don Babwin

August 29, 2021 |

Associated Press |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In Chicago, where the city's size and traffic would pose logistical and cost barriers to make mental health professionals first responders to mental-crisis calls, the Cook County sheriff's office has put 70 Zoom-enabled tablets in deputies' hands to set up on-the-spot counseling sessions with people in crisis. Instead of being confronted by a cop, people threatening suicide or harming others can talk to one of eight counselors on call. It's the first step toward getting the care they need, instead of an arrest and violent clash with police officers.

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Eugene, Oregon, Police Chief: Sending Unarmed Crisis Specialists On Mental Health Calls Saves Lives

Robin Young Allison Hagan

July 22, 2021 |

WBUR |

Radio Talk Show |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

The police chief in Eugene, Ore., home of the CAHOOTS program, which other communities see as the model for finding alternatives to policing, supports the program because it saves lives and saves the city money. Sending unarmed medics and social workers on calls involving behavioral health problems, mental health crises, and substance-use psychotic episodes automatically de-escalates many situations because of the lack of a police presence.

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Push on to boost mental health support for first responders

Elvia Verdugo

July 09, 2021 |

Arizona Daily Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tucson, Arizona

The Peer Support Team at Northwest Fire District connects firefighters with a trained peer support specialist to talk confidentially about mental health. The program also connects firefighters in need with additional resources like therapy and counseling. In an effort to change the mindset most first responders have toward mental health, there are currently 50 trained peer support specialists throughout the state and more than 1,000 across the country.

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How a Richmond nonprofit is breaking barriers to mental health access among youth

Shannon Lilly

June 24, 2021 |

WTVR-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Richmond, Virginia

ChildSavers is a Richmond-based nonprofit offering students access to mental health services. The organization has group therapy sessions specifically focused on race and race-based stressors, along with telehealth and outpatient services.

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Enlisting Mental Health Workers, Not Cops, In Mobile Crisis Response

Rob Waters

June 01, 2021 |

Health Affairs |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

The long-running CAHOOTS program, which replaces police with medics and social workers to respond to non-violent, non-criminal mental health crises, suicide threats, and problems stemming from homelessness, serves as a model for similar programs in the nationwide push to reimagine policing. CAHOOTS teams de-escalate crises at first simply because they are not armed police. They also take the time and have the training to calm situations and get people the help they need. Programs in Phoenix and Denver demonstrate how the idea plays out in larger cities.

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Deaths of Despair: The crushing toll of a pandemic in Maine's ‘forgotten county'

Barbara A. Walsh

April 11, 2021 |

The Maine Monitor |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baileyville, Maine

Police Chief Bob Fitzsimmons personally connects with residents to combat increasing suicide rates, particularly among teens. Teachers reach out to the chief if one of the town’s 330 schoolchildren misses school, and he personally visits their home. His department funded popcorn and ice-cream sundae parties, as well as a New Year’s Day gathering, to ease the difficulty of isolation during COVID-19. He ensures residents’ achievements are publicly celebrated and grieves with families during tragedies, ensuring everyone has support in the rural area where medical and mental health services are scarcer.

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A teen's death by suicide with her father's gun divides a small Missouri town

Kaitlin Washburn

April 07, 2021 |

The Kansas City Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Sedalia, Missouri

Seven teen suicides in one county over a two-year span prompted residents whose lives were touched by suicide to form DeFeet, an educational and advocacy group devoted to the message that suicide is preventable. Thanks in part to its trainings, public speakers, support groups, public education campaigns, and advocacy for gun safety, local schools now screen all students for suicide risk starting in middle school. A local health clinic now screens all patients and credits DeFeet, named for its annual 5K memorial walk, with creating "an environment where we are not as afraid to talk about suicide."

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There's a new approach to police response to mental health emergencies. Taking the police out of it

Chris James

April 02, 2021 |

CNN |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

San Francisco's Street Crisis Response Team replaces or aids police officers in responding to calls about people in nonviolent behavioral health crises. A collaboration of the city's fire and health departments, the program puts three-person teams – social workers, paramedics, and peer counselors – on patrol to respond to calls or to look for people in crisis. The $4 million pilot project has taken 800 calls in its first four months, connecting people to the care they need without the violence that can occur when police are first responders. The city hopes to expand its hours to 24/7 soon.

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With gun suicides on the rise, a rare hotline staffed by St. Louis teens saves lives

Kaitlin Washburn Rachel D. Rice

March 07, 2021 |

The Kansas City Star |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, St. Louis, Missouri

Kids Under Twenty One has taken phone calls from thousands of St. Louis-area youth to its 24/7 crisis hotline and has educated many more students at 60 schools in four counties. Teens staff the hotline, a rarity. KUTO counters the myth that talking about teens' suicide risks encouraging suicides. Instead, education about mental health care and gun safety promotes intervention during critical moments and reduces the stigma associated with seeking help. Missouri's teen suicide rate is among the highest in the country, but the St. Louis area, where KUTO has worked for 20 years, is among the state's lowest.

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