Local Diversion Programs Providing Critical Help During Mental Health Crises

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It used to be that people in mental health crisis
in Massachusetts had the choice of either a jail cell
or the emergency room when police got called to the scene.
In the past couple of years, that's been changing.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
And often the officers will just say, like, this is
the third time this has happened.

Speaker 3 (00:13):
Can you reach out to this person. We don't want
to charge them.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Numerous police diversion programs have popped up around the state.
Jennifer Corn runs the one in Somerville called Corp. She
says the point is to provide people in a crisis
with the help they need, diverting them away from jail
when that setting wouldn't make sense for them. She says
the court system and police officers are actually quite understanding.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
There's a lot of understanding and tolerance looking at creative
solutions for folks.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Other diversion programs have also seen real success recently, including
a neighboring Cambridge They're a social worker helps respond to
mental crisis calls, and city officials say the vast majority
of those are now resolved without the need for the
police to get more involved. Kyle Schaffel b Busy Boston's
Soon'sradio