As mental health calls increase, Maine police seek and find backup ways to respond
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During his first six months as the Biddeford Police Department s community engagement specialist, Jacob Hammer has handled 314 referrals of people in crisis or struggling with their mental health. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
On June 16, one man called Biddeford police more than 15 times. Sometimes he told dispatchers he needed to talk about his mental health, other times his words didn’t make much sense. He said he didn’t need police officers to check on him, but he kept calling back anyway.
Calls like these to local police departments are increasingly common in Maine and across the country, prompting public safety officials to re-examine how they’re interacting with people with mental illness and to hire mental health clinicians better equipped to work with people in crisis.
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