Page 2 - Disability Justice Program News Today

SHARE: When officers from the Rochester Police Department arrived on the scene of a family dispute involving a 9-year-old girl in emotional distress in January, a brand-new tool was at the city’s disposal: Rochester’s new Person in Crisis team. Launched earlier that month, the PIC team was created as an alternative response to mental health, substance abuse and other emergency calls that would normally involve police or paramedics. Instead of police officers being the first responders to th...

Social workers to respond to mental health 911 calls in NYC pilot program Mental health emergencies New York City is launching a pilot program in Harlem and East Harlem. Social workers and EMTs will respond to certain mental health 911 calls instead of police. NEW YORK - ThriveNYC is a new pilot program that sends social workers to answer nonviolent mental health emergency calls instead of police officers. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams supported it. "For far too long, our citys...