The following article was submitted by local clergy and other community leaders:
Every year in New Haven, there are over 100,000 9 – 1‑1 calls. The New Haven Police Department dispatches an array of units depending on the nature of the call. The Special Victims Unit handles cases involving domestic violence or minors, the SWAT team deals with potentially violent situations, and the bomb squad handles suspected explosives and hazardous material.
However, when a resident calls 911 feeling suicidal, or because a family member is experiencing psychosis, we have no specialized unit; we dispatch the police.
There is a growing recognition that a holistic approach that considers the whole person and their needs would be a better response to these calls. We should not rely on only Police Officers to respond to these types of calls. We need professionals trained to respond to mental health crises.
Recently the Elicker Administration unveiled a plan to implement a Community Crisis Response Team. The goal of the Crisis Response Team is to provide a different approach to providing services to residents while lifting the burden from New Haven Police. This Team would have harm reduction, mental health, and substance treatment professionals.
This model has proven to work in other communities.
Thirty-one years ago, the City of Eugene, Oregon, implemented CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out in the Streets), a community policing initiative. Under CAHOOTS, two-person teams made of a medic (EMT, nurse, paramedic) and social worker would go out in the community and respond to these calls for service. CAHOOTS teams also worked on issues surrounding conflict resolution, threats of suicide, and welfare checks. They do not carry weapons but are armed with medical supplies and trained on de-escalation and harm reduction techniques to better serve those in need. It is estimated that the CAHOOTS program saves the City of Eugene roughly $8.5M annually.
The City of Denver, Colorado, recently joined in the growing chorus across the country to re-envision police response and public safety by unveiling and implementing the Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) on June 1 of this year. The STAR team works like CAHOOTS but utilizes vans to drive across specific parts of the City and respond to calls for service that do not threaten the public and are not in immediate danger. STAR so far has successfully alleviated the burden on Denver Police, so they can respond to life-threatening emergencies and other incidents that may occur. Though STAR is still in the pilot process, it is already showing the City of Denver that the City can respond to calls without a badge.
The New Haven Community Crisis Response Team proposal mirrors many of the services provided in CAHOOTS and STAR teams. The New Haven CCRT will address mental health issues like anxiety or suicidal ideation, intoxication, welfare checks on intoxicated or vulnerable residents, mediation of disputes, access to emergency shelters and services, and mental health evaluations for non-EMS response situations.
This non-intrusive approach is precisely what needs to happen in the Elm City, as we look for alternatives to implementing public service. Though our officers are fully-committed to community policing, we need to ensure we do not overburden them with calls that could better be sent to a crisis response worker.
We urge Elm City residents to support this initiative and give our City a chance to re-envision how we respond to a crisis. Our community needs help, not handcuffs.
With gratitude,
Alice Forrester, Chief Executive Officer, Clifford Beers.
Beatrice Codianni, Chair, SWAN.
Doris Dumas, President, NAACP.
Earl Bloodworth, Co-Chair,the Greater New Haven Reentry Roundtable.
Leonard Jahad, Executive Director, CT Violence Intervention Program.
Margaret Middleton, Chief Executive Officer, Columbus House.
Philip Costello, Clinical Director of Homeless Care, Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center.
Rev. Caraballo, Centro Cristiana Getsemaní Church.
Rev. Champagne, President, Greater New Haven Clergy Association.
Rev. Cousin, Bethel AME Church.
Rev. Diaz, Second Star of Jacob
Rev. Hernandez, Executive Director, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, CT.
Rev. Luk de Volder, Trinity Church on the Green.
Rev. Otero, Una Iglesias para la Ciudad.
Rev. Romero, Church Cristiana Betania.
Rev. Steele, Varick Memorial AME Zion Church.
Rev. Wilkins, Marantha Life Changing Ministries.
Steve Werlin, Executive Director, Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen.
Wanda Dawson, Treasurer of Bereavement Care Network.
James Forman, professor, Yale School of Law
Reginald Dwight Betts, Million Book Project
I agree with the above article, but we need to adequately fund this team, and the social service programs that this team would refer clients to for ongoing care and services. Everyone needs to contact their legislators at the local, state and federal level to lobby for the funds to make this possible, and not just a good idea.
We also need a new training approach to crisis and intervention and deescalation training for our police and therapy and counseling for them to help them handle their jobs in a more productive way. They need our help to transform policing to a new model that is healthier for society and healthier for them as front line trauma/violence handlers.