Texas community to form holistic mental health crisis response teams
For decades, the responsibility of helping those experiencing a mental health crisis has fallen to police departments, and communities across the U...
For decades, the responsibility of helping those experiencing a mental health crisis has fallen to police departments, and communities across the United States have grappled with the safety and effectiveness of this distribution of duties— wondering if there's a better way to get constituents the help they need. When it comes to fielding mental health calls, 'Historically, society has relied on officers,' said Doug Balli, chief of police in Galveston, Texas, during a roundtable discussion Thursday about a multi-agency mental health crisis response initiative being launched in the city later this year.