Page 3 - Disability Justice Program News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

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 these calls – and risking the potential that the encounter could escalate into a violent one, as wa...

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 city's response to mental health calls has been a  failure," Williams said. The ThriveNYC will begin in ...