Photo: James Rojas/WBZ NewsRadio
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A team of social workers and clinicians are now responding to mental health emergencies and calls to 911.
WBZ NewsRadio went to learn more about the new program. In its first four days of operations, members of the city’s care team responded to six calls through 911.
Four were direct calls for the team and two were for mental health-related incidents.
The city said that one of the calls came from a local library, where patrons and staff expressed concern over someone who had experienced a mental health crisis on site. They were able to get help on-site and were connected to a shelter and resources.
The city’s goal is to provide people with an alternative to a police response.
For George and Adrianna who are experiencing homelessness, they like that the city is using social workers to help those who are going through a mental health crisis and would like to see the program expanded.
“Yeah of course. I would love to see it. It sounds good,” George said.
The community safety department says that they are expecting to phase in different types of calls to the city’s service line over the coming months.
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The city also said that beyond responding to 911 calls, the care team has been doing direct, targeted outreach in different neighborhoods, with a focus on Central Square.
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.
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