In the New York Times Article, “A Mental Health Crisis Is Not a Crime,” Dr. Phillip Goff and Katie Porter discussed the Mental Health Justice Act, which would create a national grant program to pay for first responder units made up of mental health providers on the local level. Rather than implementing programs on a national level, this act focuses on local solutions that would solve mental health issues–especially in neighborhoods where there is a lack of investment in public resources.
From the article: "The Mental Health Justice Act, which one of us introduced in the House in February, exemplifies this approach. It would create a national grant program to pay for first responder units made up of mental health providers on the local level. When people call 911 because of a mental health crisis, these units would act as an emergency response team. Their goal would be to defuse the immediate crisis and serve as a gateway to resources such as counseling, substance abuse treatment and housing assistance. Decisions about when and how armed police officers would become involved would be left to each locality."
By Phillip Atiba Goff and Katie Porter
Continue reading the article on NYtimes.com.