Valley News – Jim Kenyon: Appropriate responses to mental health crises

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As a small-town New Hampshire cop in his early 20s, Zach Brock responded to a 911 call about a suicidal jump on Interstate 93 in rush hour traffic.

Brock, the only officer on the scene, was able to talk the man out of harm’s way. After beating the man and finding no weapons, Brock did just as he was trained to do – to say the least.

Brock handcuffed the man, put him in the back of the cruiser and took him to the emergency room of a nearby hospital.

20 years and a few job changes later, Brock is answering emergency calls about people who are considering taking their own lives.

Only now they are not armed with handcuffs and guns. Holds a three-ring binder and notebook.

Last summer, Brooke, 43, joined West Central Behavioral Health’s mobile crisis response team, which was still in its infancy.

Brock, a mental health clinician with a master’s degree, and six other team members are on call day and night. Traveling in pairs, they are sent to homes, schools, parking lots and the Sullivan County Jail.

“We go wherever the crisis is,” Brock said.

Until last year, New Hampshire’s only mobile crisis response teams were in Concord, Manchester and Nashua.

In June 2021, the New Hampshire Executive Council approved a $52.4 million contract with the state’s 10 mental health centers. The West Central nonprofit, which covers Sullivan County and the southern tier of Grafton County, saw its state allocation jump from $1.4 million to $3 million.

“It’s a big change,” Bill Metcalf, director of West Central’s Mobile Crisis Services, told me. “It’s a culture change.”

Ken Norton, executive director of the New Hampshire chapter of the National Institute on Mental Illness, said in an interview last year that it would “bring the state in line with the best practices in the country.” Valley News Staff Secretary Nora Doyle-Burr.

For years, mental health advocates have promoted mobile crisis teams to get people out of hospital emergency rooms, which are ill-equipped to treat mental illnesses. Not only is it better for patients, they argue, it could reduce costly emergency room visits.

Early returns are promising.

Of the 113 calls West Central’s crisis team responded to in the first six months of this year, only nine involved emergency room visits.

An additional selling point: 99 of the crisis team’s 113 “accessions” occurred without police involvement.

Claremont Police Chief Brent Wilmot said the West Central Mobile Crisis Team is a welcome addition as many Upper Valley police departments, including his, are understaffed.

When police get calls about people experiencing a mental health crisis, there’s only so much officers can do other than drive to a hospital for evaluation.

“We’re used to doing it a certain way,” Wilmot said. “We’re seeing the same people over and over again, and it’s not working.”

But the police are not going it alone as the mobile crisis team gets underway. “We’re having some success with them coming in to help,” Wilmot said. “They’re taking people out of the hospital.”

The challenge now is to make sure that people experiencing mental health crises – or anyone acting on their behalf – know that their first port of call should not be the police. A call center, where mental health workers staff a 24/7 statewide emergency response line, opened in January.

After speaking with the caller and assessing their needs, mental health workers decide to refer them to a crisis response team.

To avoid attracting attention, Brock and his friends drive unmarked West Central vehicles. To make the “customers” feel more comfortable, Brock dresses casually – khaki pants, a collared shirt and sneakers.

Sometimes he just starts “shooting the bull. The more people believe in you, the more you reveal.”

He usually takes notes, but “sometimes I don’t take out my pen,” he said. “Someone can be intimidated. They think they’ve been reprimanded.”

A visit can last from 30 minutes to three hours, during which Brook and other team members must summarize the situation. Is the person at risk of harming themselves or others? Do they need hospitalization?

“When you go out on a crisis call, you usually don’t know the person or what’s going on in their life,” says Brock. “You’re trying to figure out the pieces of a puzzle.”

A person’s mental health crisis can stem from relationship problems or financial problems. Work or health stresses can make a person feel tired.

The three-ring binder Brock is carrying is filled with contact information for social service agencies. A big part of the job is “connecting people to resources,” he said.

West Central will follow up by phone to see if there is anything more it can do. Brock tells his customers not to hesitate to call again. “A crisis is not always one and done,” he said.

Brooke is working on a PhD with plans to become a child psychologist. A mobile crisis response team is a great job until it completes its course.

“At that point, you’re trying to help someone whose life has been ruined,” he said. “The opportunity to help them is a great feeling.”

The 24/7 New Hampshire Rapid Response Crisis Line can be reached by calling or texting 833-710-6477. Go to www.nh988.com to chat online.

Jim Kenyon can be reached at jkenyon@vnews.com.



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