Community groups will begin taking on 911 calls and low-level cases from the Denver DA
"Herod remembered the man asking if he was going to jail."
“They said, ‘No, we’re not going to take you to jail. We want you to talk to CAHOOTS,'” she said. “Once law enforcement secured the scene, CAHOOTS stepped in.”
"The cops left, and the civilian team spent time speaking to the man. They convinced him take a counseling appointment and he was allowed to stay home after the four-hour call concluded. His family, she recalled, was “more than relieved.”
“I’m just glad I have someone I can talk to,” he said."
"This, Herod said, demonstrates the power of alternatives to traditional law enforcement. In a city without a diversion system like Denver, a person in crisis would likely spend “a costly night” in jail or the emergency room, places Herod has described as the de facto solutions for mental health breakdowns. Worse, that person might be left alone to deal with their demons, only to commit an actual violent crime later on."
“People are breaking,” she said, and Denver is not equipped to help them at the moment. “We have to make sure we are getting them access to the services that they need.”
"The Eugene delegation included representatives from the Denver Police Department, the Mental Health Center of Denver, the Harm Reduction Action Center, Servicios de la Raza, Roshan Bliss from the Denver Justice Project, Vinnie Cervantes from the Denver Alliance for Street Health Response and Herod, who spearheaded the city’s Caring 4 Denver ballot initiative last November."
#LeslieHerod #mentalhealth #CAHOOTS #MayorHancock #emergencyresponders
