Prior to the pandemic, one in five Americans reported having some type of mental illness. Now, that number is up to 40 percent according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The isolation, uncertainty and insecurities of the pandemic have perpetuated the increase researchers and physicians have seen in mental illness diagnoses over the past few years.
Notes attached to the Resilience Project board on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Kristin Sauerbier, Executive Director of The Neighborhood Center’s mental health crisis line, said that the increase in calls they have seen has reflected that trend.
A combined effort between the Utica Police Department and the Neighborhood Center s Mobile Crisis Assessment Team to redirect mental health calls in the city is underway.
The Crisis Intervention Team, consisting of a police officer and a crisis counselor, will work out of police headquarters to respond to mental health calls and divert individuals from the criminal justice system to mental health resources in the area.
Last year, the Utica Police Department responded to around 800 calls related to mental health crises, according to Chief Mark Williams. He and MCAT Director Kristin Sauerbier both agree these are not necessarily calls police are equipped to respond to.