Good News Friday
In San Francisco, a smart new program to deal with those experiencing a mental health crisis; a reminder that Republicans are not going to work with Democrats; and some more contemporary music clips.
This week, NBC News ran a fascinating story about an innovative new program in San Francisco that sends street crisis response teams, rather than the police, to help people experiencing a mental health crisis.
I flagged this story because it resonated with me after the conversation I had recently with Rosa Brooks and her new book, “Tangled Up In Blue” on policing in Washington DC. One of the major themes that Rosa explores is how police are often asked to take on tasks and responsibilities for which they are not fully trained. There are few better examples of this than dealing with individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
According to one study done by the Police Executive Research Forum, a police recruit spends about 8 hours in crisis intervention training versus 58 hours in firearms training. Understandably, officers receive extensive practice in using their guns, but, in reality, police spend far more time dealing with a person in the midst of a mental health crisis than they do firing their weapons.
According to one study done in 2017, “An average of 10% of law enforcement agencies’ total budgets was spent responding to and transporting persons with mental illness in 2017.” In addition, “twenty-one percent of total law enforcement staff time was used to respond to and transport individuals with mental illness.”
Far worse, however, is the human toll of these encounters. According to the Washington Post’s database of fatal police shootings, more than 1 in 5 of those killed suffer from mental illness. Other surveys have put the number as high as 50 percent.
In the past years, there have been several tragic, high-profile such shootings. Last March, in Rochester, New York, Daniel Prude was having a mental health crisis and began walking around his neighborhood naked. When police responded to a 911 call they handcuffed him and pinned him to the ground. He died of asphyxiation.
In Houston, Nioclas Chavez was experiencing a mental breakdown. More than two dozen officers responded, and Chavez was shot 21 times and killed. In Utah, Gold Barton called the police because her 13-year old son, Lindon Cameron, who had autism, was having an episode. Cameron was shot multiple times, though thankfully not fatally. And this pat October, Walter Wallace Jr. was fatally shot by police in Philadelphia, again, after his family had called 911 for an ambulance. Wallace had refused to drop a knife that he was holding.
These incidents are hardly surprising when you consider how police are trained to respond to perceived threats. Yet, with those experiencing a mental health crisis, being approached by officers barking orders can be a surefire way to escalate a crisis.
San Francisco's program seeks to prevent such escalation and get those in crisis the help they need. The teams include a peer counselor, a behavioral clinician, and a community parademic. They are directed to respond to 911 calls about non-violent people in crisis. They can provide public resources, including help gaining entry to psychiatric clinics, shelters, substance abuse treatment, housing, etc.
The initiative is based on a program that began in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989, called CAHOOTS (short for Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets). Responders there, like those in SF, don’t carry weapons. Of the 24,000 calls that CAHOOTS responded to in 2020, in only 150 cases was police backup requested. In 2017, CAHOOTS responded to 17 percent of the calls to Eugene’s police department.
Other cities have begun similar programs. Denver launched the Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) pilot program in June. New York has started a similar initiative. In some cities, like Los Angeles and San Antonio, "co-responders” are being used to assist police when they respond to a mental health crisis.
Programs like this help those in mental health crisis get assistance and frees up police officers to deal with the kinds of incidents for which they are trained. Moreover, they keep people with mental health problems out of the criminal justice system. Once someone is arrested, they are sent to jail, which may exacerbate their mental illness. And often, the true punishment when arrested is not the sentence one receives but the process - having to show up for court dates, paying fines, attending diversion programs, etc. This frequently keeps people in the system and puts them at risk of rearrest.
This is precisely the kind of reform that many of those calling to “defund the police” last summer were advocating for - not removing police from the street but thinking of creative ways to help those in need and prevent the kind of tragedies that have become all too familiar with police interact with Americans in crisis.
A COVID Relief Update
Sometime in the next few days, the Senate will vote and likely pass a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. While Republica Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska may support the legislation, she will likely be the only GOP member to do so. This comes on the heels of every Republican in the House voting against the legislation. House Republicans also voted en masse against police reform legislation and the Equality Act, which aims to extend civil rights protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
To reiterate a point I’ve made earlier, this is the smart political move for Republicans. Their voters largely oppose the legislation and see it as a boondoggle full of liberal spending priorities. Even those Republican voters who oppose the legislation are still likely to vote for a GOP candidate in the next election.
This was a point that jumped out to me after reading Nathan Gonzales’s Inside Elections newsletter. As he points out, just 37 House races had a margin of victory of fewer than 5 points.
In addition, “there are currently seven Democrats representing districts Trump won in 2020” and “nine Republicans representing districts Biden won.” There are three Democrats and three Republicans in the Senate who represent states won by the other party’s presidential nominee. The Republicans are Maine’s Susan Collins, who just won reelection, Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey, who is retiring, and Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, who is up for reelection in 2022, but appears to be completely uninterested in moderating his politics. The point here is that most members of Congress are not in competitive seats and don’t need to appeal to members of the other party. Persuasion is not irrelevant, but it pales next to the importance of partisan mobilization for most members.
Republican politicians are not dumb (politically, that is). They understand that the key to their success is keeping Republican voters happy. One of the best ways to do that is to oppose every piece of legislation that Democrats propose … including ones they actually support! So their voting no on COVID relief is both understandable and politically logical.
What is not understandable or logical is anyone still holding dear to the fiction that any of this will change and that Republicans will cross the aisle to work with Democrats. It simply isn’t going to happen.
Friday On My Mind
I got a very positive response from the Bruce Springsteen clips that I sent around on Thursday, and I thought I’d put up a few more today. These are intended to show, in part, that my musical passions extend beyond simply boomer musicians. They also are from concerts because there is literally nothing I have missed more during this pandemic than the opportunity to see live music. This week I purchased tickets to see Wilco and Sleater-Kinney this August in New York, and it was, for me, the first indication in a long time that there is a light at the end of the tunnel on COVID-19.
These are great songs - the first is the Verve performing “Bittersweet Symphony” at Glastonbury in 2008, and the second is Florence and the Machine,” doing a great cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” at Glastonbury 2010. But what I enjoyed most about these clips is how much fun everyone is having - both the performers (especially Florence Welch) and the audience. It’s just enough to give you hope!
Finally …
I posted this yesterday, and in case you missed it wanted to repost it here:
Some personal news: Later this month, I am turning 50 years old, which is, if I’m honest, a bit terrifying. When I was a kid, people who turned 50 were old. However, I’m trying to look on the positive side of things and view it as a reason for celebration. So with that in mind, I am for the month of March offering a special discount to subscribe to Truth and Consequences. You guessed it, $50 a year for a subscription or $5 a month. It will be in effect for the entire month. If you’re a subscriber who paid at the higher rate, drop me a line, and I can extend your membership a few months.
Also, I will be donating 10 percent of the proceeds to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for every new subscription I receive. This is a cause that, unfortunately, has a great deal of meaning for me. Twenty-five years ago, my best friend committed suicide. He should be celebrating his 50th birthday on April 1, 2021. Suicide is unusually preventable. People who take their own lives often act spontaneously and can frequently be talked out of harming themselves. That’s why having access to suicide prevention tools can be so essential for saving lives. Please do consider subscribing, and even if you don’t, consider a donation to AFSP or any other organization focused on suicide prevention.
Good News Friday
I'm currently reading Rosa Brooks' fascinating and wildly fantastically titled "Tangled Up in Blue". So good.