and last updated 2021-05-10 10:59:08-04
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - San Diego leaders looking for solutions to the county's mental health issues have turned to other cities around for ideas. They may have found a blueprint in Eugene, Oregon.
"If the wheel had already been created, we wanted to copy it and make it 'San Diego,'" says San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan.
For 31 years, Eugene, Oregon, has used the "Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets" or "CAHOOTS" program to respond to mental health calls.
Instead of sending police, the program sends a crisis specialist and a medic to every call where public safety isn't threatened.