City eyes staffing mental health clinicians to attend to 911 calls
City officials are looking to put more mental health professionals on alert to assist police and emergency responders on calls for emotionally disturbed people after a mentally ill man was shot to death in a confrontation with police last year.
“You’d like to think that a greater investment would result in the ultimate prevention, which is the best interest of public health and public safety,” AtLarge City Councilor Ayanna Pressley told the Herald.
At a public hearing yesterday, police Commissioner William B. Evans said he would like to see each of BPD’s 11 districts have a licensed mental health clinician available to assist with 911 calls. Two clinicians with the Boston Emergency Services Team — a mobile crisis team organized by Boston Medical Center — are funded to work with BPD through grants, but those positions have not yet been filled after previous grants expired. Funding a clinician costs about $100,000.
Pressley, who called for the hearing after two police officers shot and killed South End resident Terence Coleman after he reportedly threatened them and EMS workers with a knife following a 911 call last October, said the city should work with state officials to permanently fund an increased program without relying on grants.
“It is our hope that we will develop a permanent, predictable revenue system,” Pressley said, adding that having a mental health professional responding to 911 calls can prevent costly emergency room visits. “Having a licensed clinician on scene doesn’t only improve and save lives, it also saves dollars.”
Officials said police responded with EMS personnel to nearly 6,100 emergency calls for emotionally disturbed people in 2016, and that led to 93 instances in the first six months of the year where ambulance transport was avoided, saving $372,000. Pressley said police are trained at the academy to deal with these emergency situations, but professionals on hand are able to do more.
“Even cross-training doesn’t supplant or replace the need for dedicated, licensed clinicians with expertise and training to do this sort of de-escalating,” Pressley said. “They play a unique role that only they can play in fragile situations.”