One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
LA Is Trying To Figure Out How To Stop Using Police For Mental Health Calls
Psychiatric Technician Connie Villareal inside a county "therapeutic transport" van. (Courtesy L.A. Dept. of Mental Health)
Last year, L.A. city and county leaders promised to reimagine how to respond to mental health crises. The push came amid calls for broader police reform in the wake of the killing of George Floyd and several deaths at the hands of law enforcement in L.A.
There has been some movement at the city and county levels, albeit fairly incremental.
Perhaps the biggest effort is centered around a city plan to develop an unarmed model of crisis response that would divert non-violent calls for mental health and substance use situations completely away from law enforcement.
That one’s still very much in the works, and we know few details.
READ OUR FULL STORY ON ALL THE EFFORTS TO MOVE POLICE AWAY FROM DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH:
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
