Some people call 911 a dozen times or more per month describing emotional upheaval, sometimes reporting visions, voices and even suicidal thoughts.
Police and paramedics who must respond say they are left to triage an escalating mental health crisis that can really only be eased with long-term counseling, medication, case management and meaningful intervention. That’s why Maplewood police and firefighters/paramedics have teamed up to create the city’s first-ever mental health outreach team.
“You don’t realize how many calls are mental health-related,” said Maplewood officer Emily Burt-McGregor, who estimates half her calls have a mental health component. “A lot of times, crimes tie back to people struggling with mental health issues.”
The team is proactively reaching out to those frequent 911 callers who exhibit symptoms of mental illness and their families, offering to meet regularly to discuss how they can help.