SASKATOON An advocacy group hopes other Canadian cities will emulate Toronto’s upcoming pilot program to send trained civilians to mental health crises instead of police in some cases. The strong push to avoid having police respond to these calls is being driven by high-profile incidents, such as the police killings of D Andre Campbell in Brampton, Ont. and Sheffield Matthews in Montreal; as well as the death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in Toronto. Rachel Bromberg, co-founder of the Reach Out Response Network, is working with Toronto city staff to create a framework for a non-police, mental health crisis response service.
The Globe and Mail Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
Getting audio file . This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Full Disclaimer
Toronto could take a tentative step towards adding a fourth emergency service agency when the mayor’s executive committee votes Wednesday on a plan that would divert mental-health calls from police to teams of civilian health workers.
Under the Toronto plan, the potential creation of a stand-alone mental-health crisis agency to join fire, paramedic and police services is years off. But the go-slow strategy would still place the city near the lead of Canadian municipalities struggling to counteract years of underinvestment in mental health that has resulted in police officers with little mental-health training becoming the default first responders to people in crisis.
Toronto propose de créer 4 équipes d intervention civiles pour les appels de crise ici.radio-canada.ca - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ici.radio-canada.ca Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
How can police best serve and protect on mental-health crisis calls? theglobeandmail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theglobeandmail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.