WACO, Texas — In a time of mental health crisis and chaos, when calling 9-1-1 is seemingly the only option, the Waco Police Department is implementing a new resource to help in those critical situations.
"When people call 9-1-1, they're often not having a good day," said Susie Murray, Waco Police emergency communications 9-1-1 manager. "It's often the worst day of their life."
For those in need, dispatchers will now have the option of sending police, fire and emergency medical services or connecting their call to behavioral health clinicians with the Heart of Texas Crisis Call Diversion Program, set up right in the dispatch center.
"Hopefully we can work through those crises over the phone and if further help is needed then one of our extended mobile crisis outreach team members can go out to that call," said program director Stacy Steger.
Steger said the behavioral health clinicians will be on call from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The team will be made up of a program manager who is a licensed professional counselor or social worker; a crisis call specialist with a bachelor's degree or above in social sciences, psychology, social work or behavioral health and their extended mobile crisis outreach team.
"That person is going to be out on call if the individual taking the call is not able to de-escalate the situation," Steger said. "So we can provide assistance for the community."
Individuals with the mental health dispatch program will be trained in-house by clinicians with the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network before transitioning to their training with law enforcement dispatchers.
"They'll be learning both sides and speaking those two different languages," Steger said.
The mental health dispatchers will conduct 24-hour follow-ups for callers to ensure their safety after a mental health crisis.
There is no set date when the dispatchers will come on. All positions are currently listed on hotbhn.org.
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