By Katherine Jones
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Starting next month, Baltimore City will begin diverting certain 911 calls away from police and to mental health professionals, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced Friday.
The pilot program will be implemented in partnership with Behavioral Health System Baltimore (BHSB) and Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc. (BCRI), two nonprofits that offer help to those suffering from substance abuse, mental health problems and other issues.
The partnership will make Baltimore one of a handful of cities to divert 911 calls towards clinical and behavioral health specialists instead of the police, Scott said. Other cities include Oakland, California, and Eugene, Oregon.
“Approximately 13,000 calls come into our 911 system each year for people in crisis,” Scott said in a statement. “Baltimore is home to world-class medical institutions, and we have an opportunity to deliver premier clinical care and supportive services to residents experiencing behavioral health and substance use crises.”
According to Scott’s official press statement, the new program will begin by splitting calls into categories: “non-suicidal and alert” (psychiatric/abnormal behavior/suicide) and “suicidal and alert” (psychiatric/abnormal behavior/suicide). These two categories make up roughly 1,000 calls received by 911 operators annually.
“The citywide pilot my administration will launch this summer will allow our police officers to spend more time focusing on violence,” Scott said. “I look forward to deepening this work and growing our public health diversion options over time, in partnership with community-based organizations.”
To access the service, residents must dial 911. The 911 specialist will then determine if the call qualifies for a referral to one of the two specialist lines. Rather than automatically routing the call to Baltimore police or emergency medical services, the caller will be connected to a trained mental health clinician at the Here2Help line, operated by BCRI.
Residents can also call the free, confidential Here2Help line directly at 410-433-5175, available 24-hours a day.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who has pushed for similar legislation at the national level, joined the mayor for the announcement Friday.
“We need systemic changes to ensure true public safety,” Van Hollen said in a tweet on Friday. “Not every emergency requires a police response. Was proud to join @MayorBMScott as he launched the 911 diversion program for those experiencing behavioral health crises.”
Implementing a 911 diversion pilot program was one of the promises Scott made during his State of the City address in March.
“This is a huge deal,” said AJ Pruitt, a Baltimore resident and conflict and reconciliation student, in a Twitter response to the news on Friday. “Crisis reduction is violence reduction. Congrats to @MayorBMScott for putting promises into policy, and policy into action.”