Dispatchers for 911 make critical assessments about every call; should law enforcement respond or emergency medical aid. A new survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts finds few 911 dispatch centers across the nation have enough staff and specialized training to manage mental health crisis calls. Sitaniel Wimbley is with the Mississippi chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness.
“Sometimes because of the operators not knowing who to send, they will send an officer who is not trained in crisis intervention which means that officer does not know how to handle a person who is in a mental health crisis and that can be very dangerous,” Wimbley said.
The survey says budget constraints and high employee turnover are also issues. Wimbley thinks a new nationwide suicide prevention and behavioral crisis line will improve training and response to emergencies. The 988 number launches in July 2022, to replace the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Katie Storr with the state Mental Health Department is working on the project.
“We have the crisis stabilization units. We have the mobile crisis teams in each of our mental health center’s regions and so we have the system in place and 988 is going to be that great number for everyone to remember to call so that they can get access easily so they know it’s there,” Storr said.
Storr says a coalition of organizations are involved with development and they are required to have a plan ready by December. Right now she says they're determining the best technology to use to ensure callers are easily connected to the appropriate mental health service.
The Mississippi Department of Mental Health reports last year nearly 35,000 calls were made to mobile crisis teams. In 2020, the number of calls was even higher with nearly 37,000 calls. And there were more than 9,000 calls answered by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in Mississippi in FY21.
