By Bob Walsh
People check out a mobile van to be used in Stockton's first-of-its-kind mobile crisis intervention response pilot programThe crime-ridden and
gang-infested burg of Stockton is going to give a shot to the idea of
mental health crisis response teams to respond to situations instead of,
or along with, cops. They have a nice new shiny van and everything.
The
911 system will try routing these calls, many of which are from
"frequent flyers" to an outfit called Community Medical Centers which
will respond to the original call and then do two day, seven day and 30
day follow-ups.
The
response teams will consist of a social worker, a case manager, a health
worker and a medical assistant. They hope the plan will be operational
in another two weeks. The city hopes to have as many as four teams up
and running in three years. The initial roll-out is funded by $5.7
million from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The
details are still being worked out. The idea currently is that at
first the cops would still be the first responders to many calls and
would hold down the fort until the nut squad shows up. Eventually they
hope to have the nut squad be the first responders to many mental health
related calls that are non-violent and non-aggressive.
It sure would be nice if it actually works.
2 comments:
I hope there is a cage in that brand spanking new nut wagon.
Also maybe some body armor and pepper spray.
Post a Comment