Sacramento County Behavioral Health Services worked with the community in 2020 to seek input on alternatives to calling 9-1-1 in a behavioral health or quality of life crisis. The public was invited to provide comments sharing their thoughts and suggestions during two community listening sessions and in an online survey.
Behavioral Health Services is now inviting the public to listen to a report-back on the key findings and the next steps from the sessions and the survey. There will be two upcoming online sessions for the public to choose regarding alternatives to calling 9-1-1 for mental health response:
- Feb. 9, 2021, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. (Register online)
- Feb. 10, 2021, 12 – 1 p.m. (Register online)
Flyers for these sessions are also available in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Hmong, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese on the Behavioral Health Services website.
This work stemmed from a Board of Supervisors discussion in the September 2020 budget hearings. The Board directed County Departments to develop a mobile mental health crisis system proposal that would serve as an alternative to the 911 emergency line for people experiencing mental health crises.
The preliminary goals of the program are to increase mental health response to calls for service; decrease law enforcement response to mental health distress, crisis or other quality of life issues; decrease unnecessary emergency department visits and psychiatric hospitalizations; and decrease relapse into crisis by linking to ongoing outpatient mental health services.
If you have questions, please contact Jenine Spotnitz at spotnitzj@saccounty.net. If you would like to arrange for an interpreter or reasonable accommodations, please contact Anne-Marie Rucker at (916) 875-3861 or ruckera@saccounty.net by Feb. 3, 2021.
