Webinar: How to Keep Young People of Color Safe through Mobile Response
During this 60-minute conversation, we spoke with Smitha Gundavajhala, Dr. Jeana Bracey, and Geneva Strech.
During the conversation, our guests spoke about:
- the mobile response systems they are working with and the positive impacts mobile response has had in their states;
- setting up protocols, processes, and policies to decrease the number of times police show up to a mental health crisis;
- marketing strategies to promote 9-8-8 as the mental health emergency line;
- and building relationships in communities to build villages that would allow people to care for each other.
We concluded the webinar with questions from the audience that provided the opportunity for these experts to respond to more technical questions.
Also, here are a set of resources available for you to access on this important issue:
- Youth Mobile Response: An Investment to Decriminalize Mental Health
- Oklahoma Youth Mobile Response and Stabilization Services
- Connecticut’s Mobile Crisis Intervention Services
- Connecticut School-Based Diversion Initiative
- Performance Improvement Center (includes publications and reports on Mobile Crisis)
We must promote mental health crisis response models for young people of color that include a mental health practitioner team, and not the police. If your organization supports this idea, please sign on to our letter addressed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services here –>.