This week we added three news stories from the past week that we aren't exploring in depth but that we think are important for our readers to stay informed.
Earlier this month Lynn became the first city in Massachusetts to establish an unarmed crisis response team, a team made up of social workers and mental health counselors that will respond to nonviolent emergency 911 calls.
The group is based on a similar program that has been running in Eugene, Oregon for over three decades, the program has seen tremendous success, responding to 20% of all 911 calls made in Eugene in 2019.
Cochair Adriana Paz center, speaks with Nicole McClain of the North Shore Juneteenth Association, as they gather with fellow members of the Lynn Racial Justice Coalition at City Hall
"Police approach [people] threatening to control and subdue,[but] these people are going to have de-escalation skills, and also extensive training in racial and cultural sensitivity”-
Rev. Bernadette Hickman-Maynard
Why Does it Matter?
According to the Brookings Institution, people with undiagnosed mental health illnesses are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter. The goal of the program is to send in professionals who can help the person in crisis, not simply arrest them or worse, kill them.
People in crisis need help, not violent restraint. Lynn has taken a first step to setting up an emergency response that will actually help the residents in crisis while also keeping them alive. For too long our only answer to emergencies has been to send in police, and as we have seen time and again, that has led to countless tragedies.
How you can help
While this seems like ‘common-sense reform’, Lynn is the only city in Massachusetts to have set up such a team.
Wherever you live, contact your city officials and demand they work to establish alternative emergency response teams.
