Dweebs First Response

I once called for help for a man having a breakdown, lying in the road and striking his head against the curb. Regardless of how much I told the dispatcher that he needed medical help not police, it was the police that made it there first. I had been trying to keep him talking. They separated us. Restrained him, hands behind his back. Questioned whether I was very sure he hadn't committed any crimes. When an ambulance arrived, the police said he had to go with them, not offering him a choice or even an explanation of where the ambulance was going.

The problem is that police department's lack expertise on mental health crises. We respond to every emergency by sending police, whether trained or not. When things go wrong, society's default or even only response to a call for help is often the police.

This situation is repeated nationwide. Of 240 million 911 calls each year, up to 50% could be solved without dispatching officers. This would result in less unnecessary police contact. It would also increase willingness to call emergency services, since many people are unwilling or afraid to risk interaction with law enforcement.

We provide dispatchers with another option beyond sending the people trained in force. 

We already have a mental health team capable of providing remote advice and mentorship. This is roughly analogous to a suicide hotline, with the difference that we are ordinarily longer-term and aimed at helping the caller avoid the next emergency rather than just the current one. 

In addition to our remote work, we will provide in-person emergency responses in target cities in lieu of police dispatch. We are partnering with local businesses to create safe spaces, which can when necessary be used as "third places" outside of work or home, where the caller knows they can escape normal stressors.

When someone calls 911 for a mental health-related reason, they want a mental health-related solution. Our solution lowers costs through a volunteer-run task-force and raises safety through trained responses. 

We already provide mental health mentorship across 35 countries around the globe, working in communities across income levels and diversity. This proposed solution, providing immediate mental health services in response to calls forwarded from dispatch, is an outgrowth of that existing project.