Oklahoma Cities Add Mental Health Response Programs
A Department of Justice investigation may have been the impetus for Oklahoma cities to evaluate their response to mental health.
As Ruby Topalian reported, programs in Tulsa and Oklahoma City could improve how mental health calls are handled, lightening the load on fire and police emergency response while providing better care for residents.
At the heart of the programs are mental health workers who field calls and referrals, performing a sort of triage and getting people experiencing a mental health crisis appropriate care. That’s a big move from police officers with little or no mental health training confronting people in crisis, too frequently resulting in a person who needs psychiatric help landing in a jail cell instead of a doctor’s office. Some of those confrontations have ended even more tragically, becoming deadly.
The programs aim to streamline work for first responders too, routing 911 calls to the 988 mental health line. In Oklahoma City’s case, that could mean 18,000 calls per year.
Finding enough qualified people to staff the programs remains problematic. Community mental health isn’t everyone’s idea of a dream job and the federal government has designated all 77 Oklahoma counties as mental health professional shortage areas.
More worth reading:
Jail Refuses Inspections
The Oklahoma County jail has twice refused surprise inspections from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, setting the stage for a potential standoff between the county’s district attorney and the state agency tasked with ensuring county jails are safe. [Oklahoma Voice]
Race Massacre Affected Economic Freedom of Generations
The reality of the Oklahoma supreme court’s decision last month to uphold a Tulsa county district court judge’s decision to dismiss their lawsuit is that survivors have likely had their last chances for reparations denied. [The Guardian]
Route 66 Has a Capital
After two years of research and countless surveys conducted by the Tulsa Route 66 Commission, Tulsa has been granted the official title of Capital of Route 66. [Thrillist]
Oklahoma has more miles of the original Route 66 than any other state.
Ciao for now,
Ted Streuli
Executive Director, Oklahoma Wat
