Appendices
Additional Resources
- Beck, Jackson, Melissa Reuland, and Leah Pope. Behavioral Health Crisis Alternatives: Shifting from Police to Community Responses (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2020).
- Council of State Governments Justice Center. “Expanding First Response: A Toolkit for Community Responder Programs.”
- Dholakia, Nazish. The People Responding to 911 Calls Instead of Police (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2022).
- El-Sabawi, Taleed, and Jennifer J. Carroll. “A Model for Defunding: An Evidence-Based Statute for Behavioral Health Crisis Response,” Temple Law Review 94 (2022).
- The Front End Project. From Harm to Health: Centering Racial Equity and Lived Experience in Mental Health Crisis Response (New York: Fountain House, 2021). The Front End Project is a collaboration between Fountain House, the Center for Court Innovation (CCI), The W. Haywood Burns Institute, the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC), and the Mental Health Strategic Impact Initiative (S2i).
- Neylon, Kristin. Strategies and Considerations for Providing a More Equitable Crisis Continuum for People of Color in the United States (Alexandria, VA: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute, Inc., 2021).
- Policy Research Associates. “Leveraging the Sequential Intercept Model to Address Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” Policy Research Associates, January 12, 2021.
- Usher, Laura, Amy Watson, Ron Bruno, Suzanne Andriukaitis, Don Kamin, Carol Speed, and Sabrina Taylor. Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Programs: A Best Practice Guide for Transforming Community Responses to Mental Health Crises (Memphis, TN: CIT International, 2019).
- Vera Institute of Justice, Investing in Evidence-Based Alternatives to Policing: Civilian Crisis Response (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2021).
Interviews with national subject matter experts and local program stakeholders
Interview # | Interview Date | Interviewee Name | Interviewee Organization and Role |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | March 4, 2021 | Shannon Scully | Senior Advisor for Justice and Crisis Response Policy, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) |
2 | March 9, 2021 | Amy Watson | Professor of Social Work, Helen Bader School of Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee |
3 | March 17, 2021 | Pat Strode | CIT Advocate Coordinator, Georgia Public Safety Training Center |
4 | March 12, 2021 | Jessica Gillooly | Assistant Professor of Sociology & Criminal Justice, Suffolk University |
5 | March 24, 2021 | Chacku Mathai | Ex-patient advocate, Board member for the National Association for Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA), President of Friends of Recovery - New York, and SAMHSA Project Director at Center for Practice Innovations at Columbia University, |
6 | March 25, 2021 | Steve Baron | Former Director, District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health |
07, Participant A | April 7, 2021 | David Covington | President and CEO, RI International |
07, Participant B | April 7, 2021 | Joy Brunson-Nsubuga | Vice President of Southeast Region, RI International |
8 | April 8, 2021 | Lorie Fridell | Chief Executive Officer and Executive-Level Instructor, Fair and Impartial Policing |
9 | April 8, 2021 | Gabriella Wong | Executive Director and Founder, accesSOS |
10, Participant A | April 9, 2021 | Taleed El-Sabawi | Assistant Professor of Law, Florida International University College of Law and Scholar, Addiction & Public Policy Initiative, the O’Neill Institute for National & Global Health Law, Georgetown Law Center |
10, Participant B | April 9, 2021 | Jennifer J. Carroll | Assistant Professor of Anthropology, North Carolina State University |
11 | April 7, 2021 | Yolo Akili Robinson | Executive Director and Founder, Black Emotional Mental Health Collective (BEAM) |
12 | April 13, 2021 | Melissa Neal Stein, DrPH | Senior Research Associate, Policy Research Associates, Inc. |
13 | May 10, 2021 | Lt. Diane Goldstein (Ret.) | Executive Director, Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) |
14 | May 17, 2021 | Pata Suyemoto | Co-chair of the Greater Boston Regional Suicide Prevention Coalition and Chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP) Alliance for Equity’s People of Color Caucus |
15, Participant A | May 18, 2021 | Rachel Bromberg | Co-Founder, Reach Out Response Network and Co-Founder, International Crisis Response Association |
15, Participant B | May 18, 2021 | Asante Haughton | Co-Founder, Reach Out Response Network and Co-Founder, International Crisis Response Association |
16 | May 20, 2021 | Vanessa Green | Founder and Executive Director, Call BlackLine |
17 | May 21, 2021 | Victor Armstrong | Chief Equity Officer, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services |
18 | May 25, 2021 | Megan McGee | Special Projects Manager, St. Petersburg Police Department |
19 | May 27, 2021 | Curtis Dann-Messier | Director, NYC Health + Hospitals Peer Academy and Board Member, NYC Justice Peer Initiative |
20, Participant A | June 4, 2021 | Stefanie Lyn Kaufman-Mthimkhulu | Founder and Executive Director, Project LETS |
20, Participant B | June 4, 2021 | Xochi Cartland | Former Director of Programs, Chapter Leader, and Peer Support Advocate, Project LETS |
21 | June 10, 2021 | Daniela Hernández Chong Cuy | Immigration Lawyer and co-chair of the Latino Underserved Communities of Color, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, and coordinator of the Undocumented / Mixed-Status Families subcommittee |
22 | June 28, 2021 | Greg Townley | Associate Professor of Community Psychology and co-founder of PSU's Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, Portland State University |
23, Participant A | June 30, 2021 | Lauren Brown | Strategic Services Division Manager, Portland Police Bureau |
23, Participant B | June 30, 2021 | Christian Peterson | Police Data Research Supervisor, Portland Police Bureau |
24 | June 30, 2021 | Terri Balliet | Chief Operating Officer, Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services |
25 | July 6, 2021 | Deberah Giles | Clubhouse Supervisor, OurHouse Clubhouse |
26 | July 7, 2021 | Daniele Lyman-Torres | Former Commissioner, Rochester Department of Recreation and Human Services |
27 | July 8, 2021 | Tahlar Rowe | Mental Health Advocate, San Antonio Clubhouse |
28, Participant A | July 13, 2021 | Kailey Fiedler-Gohlke | Chief Executive Officer, Hero House NW Clubhouse |
28, Participant B | July 13, 2021 | Michael Brown | Chief Program Officer, Hero House NW Clubhouse |
29, Participant A | August 2, 2021 | Simon Pang | Assistant Deputy Chief of Community Paramedicine, San Francisco Fire Department |
29, Participant B | August 2, 2021 | Angelica Almeida, Ph.D. | Director of Forensic and Justice Involved Behavioral Health Services, San Francisco Department of Public Health |
30 | August 10, 2021 | Anne Larsen | Former Outreach Services Coordinator, Olympia Police Department |
31 | October 1, 2021 | Nomi Teutsch | Member of Treatment Not Trauma Coalition and Clinical Social Worker, Treatment Not Trauma Coalition |
31 | October 1, 2021 | Nikki Grant | Member of Treatment Not Trauma Coalition and Amistad Law Project’s Policy Director and Co-Founder, Treatment Not Trauma Coalition |
32 | September 20, 2021 | Jason Hansman | Deputy Director, Mental Health Initiatives for Crisis Response/Community Capacity, New York City Mayor's Office of Community Mental Health |
33 | October 18, 2021 | Tobi HIll-Meyer | Equity and Inclusion Coordinator, City of Olympia |
34 | October 14, 2021 | Vinnie Cervantes | Organizing Director, Denver Alliance for Street Health Response |
35, Participant A | November 4, 2021 | Erin Dalton | Director, Allegheny County Department of Human Services |
35, Participant B | November 4, 2021 | Jenn Batterton | Manager of Special Initiatives, Allegheny County Department of Human Services |
Featured programs and jurisdictions
An increasing number of jurisdictions are developing civilian-led crisis response programs staffed by unarmed responders. For an overview of existing crisis response programs highlighted in this toolkit, see below:
Program Name | Jurisdiction | Start Date and Current Scope | Program Governance | Staffing and Dispatch Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
St. Petersburg, FL | January 2021 (citywide) | Program is administered and monitored by the police department and staffed by Gulf Coast Jewish & Family Services | Two-person teams of behavioral health workers and community navigators. Accessible via 911 and a non-emergency line that is connected to the same communications center | |
Rochester, NY | January 2021 (citywide) | Program is administered, overseen, and staffed by the Crisis Intervention Services Office in Rochester’s Department of Recreation and Human Services. | Two-person teams of behavioral health professionals, secured a grant for a peer role. Accessible via 911 and through 211, the region’s 24/7 crisis line. | |
Denver, CO | June 2020 (citywide) | Program is administered and overseen by the Department of Health & Environment and staffed by the Mental Health Center of Denver. | Two-person teams, including a mental health clinician and paramedic. Accessible via 911. | |
Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD) | New York, NY | Spring 2021 (pilot) | Program is jointly operated by the NYC Fire Department and Health + Hospitals, with oversight from the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health | Teams of two Fire Department EMTs/paramedics and one social worker from Health + Hospitals Accessible via 911 |
Eugene and Springfield, OR | 1984 (citywide) | Program is funded through the police department and integrated into their communications system but administered and staffed by White Bird Clinic | Two person teams of crisis workers and EMTs Accessible via 911 and a non-emergency line that is connected to the same communications center | |
San Francisco, CA | November 2020 (citywide) | Program is collaboratively administered by the Department of Public Health (DPH), Fire Department, and Department of Emergency Management, and staffed by the Fire Department and two DPH contractors, HealthRight 360 and RAMS, Inc. | Three-person teams of peer health worker, paramedic, behavioral health clinician Accessible via 911 | |
Portland, OR | January 2021 (citywide) | Program is administered and staffed by Portland’s Fire and Rescue Department | Two four-person teams that include one firefighter/EMT or paramedic, one licensed mental health crisis therapist, and two community health workers or two peer support specialists Accessible via 911 | |
Olympia, WA | April 2019 (citywide) | Program is administered and staffed by civilian employees of the police department | Two behavioral health specialists Accessible via 911 | |
Toronto, Canada | March 2022 (pilot) | The City of Toronto is contracting with four community-based service providers (TAIBU Community Health Centre, Gerstein Crisis Centre, The Canadian Mental Health Association Toronto, and 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations) to operate and staff four distinct pilot programs | Multidisciplinary teams of trained crisis support specialists (e.g. community health nurses, crisis counsellors, harm reduction workers, peer workers) Accessible via 911, and 211 - 211 operators will triage and dispatch calls to mobile teams. |