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BOSTON – Friday,
October 22, 2021 – Mayor Kim Janey and the Office of Health and Human
Services (HHS) today announced applications are now being accepted for the Community-Led Design Group for mental health crisis response. This
group of community members will be composed of Boston residents with
professional and/or lived experience with mental health issues who are committed
to designing a pilot for a community-led response to mental health
crises.
Mayor Janey tasked
the Health and Human Services Cabinet (HHS), Boston Police Department
(BPD), and Boston EMS with creating pilot programs to reimagine the way
Boston responds to mental health crises in our neighborhoods in April 2021.
This collaboration, which included multiple community listening sessions
and public meetings, resulted in three pilot plan initiatives to improve
mental health responses: (1) improving the existing co-response model, (2)
introducing an alternative response, led by Boston-EMS and mental health
workers, and now (3) creating a community-led response.
“I have made it a
priority as Mayor to bring safety, healing, and justice to all of Boston’s
communities and neighborhoods,” said Mayor Janey. “That includes
reimagining how we respond to mental health crises in our city. This Design
Group will help residents and their families get the right type of care
they deserve, and I encourage everyone with an interest to apply.”
The goal of this
program is to assemble a group of individuals from a variety of Boston
neighborhoods, identities, and backgrounds. The Design Group members must
be Boston residents and dedicated community members who are willing to
engage in this challenging process. Community members are encouraged to
reference their own lived experience and how it shapes their desire to join
the Design Group in their application. Translation services will be made
available for residents who do not speak English and candidates can request
their preferred language in the application.
A monetary stipend
of $1,200 will be provided to each member in acknowledgment of the time and
effort that goes into serving on the Design Group and to help offset any
necessary childcare and transportation costs associated with their
participation. All applications must be submitted by Wednesday, November 10,
2021 by 5:00 p.m. Applicants are also welcome to submit their applications
by mail or in person at City Hall (suite 806).
"As we
re-imagine the City’s response to mental health crises in our
neighborhoods, it’s critical that we make sure that the voices of community
members are represented," said Chief of Health and Human Services
Marty Martinez. "The Community-led Design Group is an important
component in a multi-pronged approach that brings those voices to the
table."
Mayor Janey’s August
announcement introduced three models of piloting how the City would respond
to mental health crises. In addition to the community-led response, Mayor
Janey also announced co-response and alternative response models.
Co-response will improve and expand dedicated teams of
police officers and mental health workers to respond to 911 calls that
report a mental health crisis with a safety risk.
·
Currently,
dispatch of co-response takes place on a case-by-case basis. The pilot
initiative standardizes this process. Dispatchers will automatically ask if
a co-response team is available to respond to mental health calls that pose
a safety risk. This component of the pilot began in September.
·
In
addition, co-response cars with a police officer and mental health worker
can currently be asked to respond to any call type. The pilot will
designate dedicated co-response cars, which will only be dispatched to
calls that are likely to have a mental health concern. This component of
the pilot began in October, in Boston Police Districts A1 and B2, in the
Downtown/Charlestown and Roxbury neighborhoods.
Alternative response will deploy teams of Emergency Medical
Technicians and mental health workers to respond to 911 calls that report a
mental health crisis without a safety risk. This work to develop this
response is in partnership with
unions representing BPD and EMS employees.
For more information
about the City’s Mental Health Crisis Response Pilots, please visit here.
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