Rethinking interactions between police and the mentally ill
Summary
TLDRThe ABC News report by Trevor Alt highlights the nationwide issue of police departments' preparedness to handle mental illness, particularly schizophrenia. It tells the story of a family affected by the condition and explores the need for a reimagined crisis response. The piece features Mimi Feldman and her son Nick, who suffers from schizophrenia, and discusses the challenges of treatment and the risks associated with police interactions. It also examines alternative crisis management approaches, such as Eugene, Oregon's unarmed medic and crisis worker program, and the Biden administration's proposal to allocate $5 billion towards community-based policing. The report emphasizes the importance of addressing mental health before it escalates into a crisis and the need for a more compassionate and effective response system.
Takeaways
- 😔 The devastating impact of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, affects millions and raises concerns about police departments' preparedness to handle such cases.
- 👨👩👦 The story of Nick, a young man with schizophrenia, illustrates the personal and familial struggle with mental illness and its progression over time.
- 🎨 Nick's artistic talent and the impact of his mental illness on his creativity and life highlight the human side of those living with mental disorders.
- 🚨 The fear and misunderstanding surrounding interactions between people with mental illnesses and law enforcement, which can sometimes lead to tragic outcomes.
- 🤔 The need for society to better understand mental illnesses and the fact that those suffering are not inherently violent, contrary to common misconceptions.
- 🛑 The disproportionate risk of violence faced by individuals with untreated mental illnesses, especially when in contact with law enforcement.
- 🏥 The importance of crisis management teams, like CAHOOTS in Eugene, Oregon, which deploy medics and crisis workers instead of armed police to mental health emergencies.
- 👮♂️ Support from police chiefs like Chris Skinner for alternative crisis response programs, recognizing the limitations of traditional law enforcement in mental health situations.
- 🔄 The ongoing discussions and efforts to reimagine policing and crisis response in America, with a focus on community-based and mental health-centered approaches.
- 💔 The emotional and psychological toll on families, like Mimi Feldman's, who must navigate the challenges of mental illness and the potential dangers of police encounters.
- 🌐 The Biden administration's proposal to allocate $5 billion towards community-based policing, indicating a shift in focus towards more holistic and preventive mental health strategies.
- 🙏 The call for empathy, understanding, and better training in law enforcement to respect and serve the community, especially in dealing with mental health crises.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the video script?
-The main issue discussed is the devastating effect of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, on individuals and families, and the question of whether police departments are equipped to handle people who suffer from these conditions.
Who is the family featured in the script, and what is their connection to mental illness?
-The family featured is Mimi Feldman and her husband Craig O'Rourke, whose son Nick suffers from schizophrenia, illustrating the impact of mental illness on their lives.
What is schizophrenia, and how does it affect the brain?
-Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by delusional thinking and hallucinations. It is a progressive disease that deteriorates the brain, often requiring changes in medication and treatment approaches.
How does the script describe the experience of having a family member with schizophrenia?
-The script describes it as a situation where the family member is physically present but mentally absent, like a death without the ability to grieve or move past it, causing the family to let go of dreams for their loved one.
What is the misconception about people with mental illness and violence?
-The misconception is that people with mental illness are inherently violent. However, government data shows they are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.
Why are people with untreated mental illness more likely to be killed by law enforcement?
-People with untreated mental illness, particularly those with delusional thinking, are unlikely to respond to rational intervention and may pose a perceived threat, leading to a higher likelihood of deadly encounters with law enforcement.
What is the crisis management approach adopted by the city of Eugene, Oregon?
-Eugene has adopted a public safety system called CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets), which deploys a medic and a crisis worker, both unarmed, to safely de-escalate mental health emergencies instead of sending police officers.
How does Mimi Feldman view the current mental health system in the United States?
-Mimi Feldman views the current mental health system as terribly broken, suggesting that calling it broken might even be a compliment, indicating the extent of the issues within the system.
What is the role of Erica Ford and her organization, Life Camp, in addressing mental health crises and police response?
-Erica Ford, CEO of Life Camp, is partnering with the NYPD to address issues like mental illness and police response to it, aiming to end gun violence and improve community-based crisis management.
What is the proposed federal plan regarding community-based policing mentioned in the script?
-The Biden administration is proposing a federal plan to allocate five billion dollars toward community-based policing, aiming to shift some of the allocations from traditional policing to crisis management systems.
What is Mimi Feldman's hope and dream for her son Nick, who has schizophrenia?
-Mimi's hope and dream for Nick is complex and tinged with the reality of his condition. She expresses a deep sense of loss for the life he had and the dreams she had for him, while also acknowledging the importance of accepting him as he is now.
Outlines
🚨 Police Response to Mental Health Crises 🚨
This paragraph discusses the devastating impact of mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, on individuals and families. It highlights the nationwide issue of whether police departments are adequately equipped to handle crises involving those with mental health conditions. The story of Nick, a young man diagnosed with schizophrenia, is used to illustrate the challenges faced by families and the importance of understanding mental illness. The paragraph also touches on the progressive nature of the disease, the lack of a one-size-fits-all treatment, and the potential dangers of police intervention in mental health crises, including the increased likelihood of violence against those with untreated mental illness.
🛡️ Reimagining Crisis Response and Mental Health Support 🛡️
The second paragraph delves into the efforts to reimagine crisis response and mental health support in America. It recounts the experiences of Mimi Feldman, whose son Nick's schizophrenia diagnosis has significantly impacted their lives. The narrative emphasizes the need for better understanding and treatment of mental health issues before they escalate into crises. The paragraph also explores alternative approaches to crisis management, such as the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon, which deploys unarmed medics and crisis workers to handle mental health emergencies. The discussion includes the broader context of racial disparities in police interactions and the Biden administration's proposal to allocate federal funds towards community-based policing. The challenges of accessing mental health care and the emotional toll on families are also highlighted, with Mimi expressing her fears and hopes for her son's future.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mental Illness
💡Schizophrenia
💡Police Departments
💡Crisis Response
💡Mimi Feldman
💡Medic
💡Crisis Worker
💡De-escalation
💡Community-Based Policing
💡Mental Health System
💡Life Camp
Highlights
Mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, has a devastating effect on millions and raises concerns about police departments' preparedness to handle such conditions.
Schizophrenia affects over two million Americans, characterized by delusions and hallucinations, with no blanket treatment and progressive nature.
People with mental illnesses are often misunderstood, with the misconception that they are inherently violent; in reality, they are more likely to be victims of violence.
Untreated mental illness increases the risk of being killed by law enforcement by 16 times, highlighting the urgent need for improved crisis response.
Mimi Feldman and her family share their personal experience with her son Nick's schizophrenia, illustrating the profound impact on family dynamics.
The city of Eugene, Oregon, has adopted a crisis management approach called CAHOOTS, deploying medics and crisis workers instead of armed police for mental health emergencies.
Police Chief Chris Skinner supports the CAHOOTS program, acknowledging the strain on police departments to handle societal issues beyond their capacity.
Mental health emergencies can escalate quickly without proper crisis response teams, as experienced by parents like Mimi who must intervene in tense situations.
Erica Ford, CEO of Life Camp in New York, is working with the NYPD to address mental health issues and police responses, aiming to reduce gun violence.
The Biden administration is proposing a federal plan to allocate $5 billion towards community-based policing to improve mental health crisis responses.
Mental health treatment before a crisis can be cost-prohibitive in the current healthcare system, making it difficult for families to access necessary care.
Mimi Feldman reflects on the emotional toll of her son's illness, the dreams she had to let go of, and the reality of his changed life.
The transcript highlights the need for a reimagined approach to policing and mental health, with a focus on community-based solutions and less reliance on armed intervention.
The story emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing mental illness, as well as the potential for innovative crisis response programs to save lives.
The transcript concludes with a call to action for better mental health care and support systems, recognizing the privilege some families have in advocating for their loved ones.
Transcripts
we turn out to mental illness it's
devastating effect on millions and the
question of whether police departments
are equipped to handle people who suffer
from these conditions
abc's trevor alt reports on this
nationwide problem through the eyes of a
family upended by schizophrenia
and the people trying to reimagine
crisis response work
say something when it first happened
he was gone he was not here with
us anymore and imagine looking at
your son standing in front of you
beautiful
all in one piece like he always was
right there
but gone it's like a death but you
don't get to grieve like a death you
don't get to
move past it like a deaf
we all look at facebook and look at
your son's friends growing up and
your son is just kind of stuck in time
and
you have to let go of all the dreams
that you have
my disappointment is even secondary to
imagine his disappointment he lost the
life that he had too
tucked into the forested hills of
southern washington you'll find the home
of mimi feldman and her husband craig
o'rourke
both of them lifelong artists see all
these lines of
these post-its they're all ideas backed
up here
and inside hanging next to their own
work
is that of their son nick painted before
his mental illness in mimi's words
swept through their lives like a gale
force hurricane
his drive to
push color across the surface is so
strong
that he has to keep doing it
no matter what and i realized that
he has this disease that makes maybe his
mind
a scary place sometimes nick is one of
more than two million americans
diagnosed with schizophrenia
characterized by delusional thinking and
hallucinations
the disease deteriorates the brain there
is no blanket treatment
and even the most effective medication
will likely come with significant side
effects
the disease is progressive so the
disease changes and then it has to be
addressed with more medication
or very often the person themselves
feels that they're better now and then
they stop taking the medication
as i sat down with nick his parents told
me because of his latest medication
this was the best he'd been in a decade
is it
possible for you to describe what
it's like with your mental illness
like stress and
in balance like with the mood and energy
yeah do you think that people need to
learn more about that
subject well i know that people can be
misunderstood
and what many people misunderstand is
that a person with a mental illness
is not inherently violent in fact
government data shows people with severe
mental illness are more likely to be
victims of violence than perpetrators
but in a crisis a person with delusional
thinking is unlikely to respond to
rational intervention
people with untreated mental illness are
16 times more likely to be killed by law
enforcement
it's something mimi fears whenever her
son comes into contact with the police
actually i called 9-1-1 and i asked for
an ambulance
and the police showed up first that i
started to explain
nick's situation and he said to me
don't even tell me you know don't bother
telling me tell it to the ambulance sell
to the medical people when they come
and i looked him in the eye and i said
well you're the guy with the gun
so i'm going to tell this to you and i'm
going to stand between you and my son
there's a lot of cities that are trying
to shift towards more crisis management
teams are you happy to see those
developments
yeah i'm very happy to see that develop
i think that
it's so far from being functional it
ties into the whole mental health
system which is so terribly broken i
mean i think to call it broken is
a compliment
just a few hours south eugene oregon is
one of the first
cities to adopt that approach we're
having some really really
candid conversations about whether or
not the police department should be the
response to some of those crisis
for more than 30 years eugene has relied
on a public safety system called
cahoots crisis assistance helping out on
the streets
instead of sending a cop for mental
health emergencies they deploy a medic
and a crisis worker neither of them
armed to try to safely de-escalate the
situation
and the city's police chief chris
skinner says his department is one of
the program's biggest supporters
for years we've been asked to do more
and more and more we're often times the
fallback or the the trap that catches
everything that society has not
created capacity for but right now as
much of the country lacks the comfort of
a crisis response team
mental health emergencies can quickly
turn into a terrified parent like mimi
begging for patience or mercy between an
officer
and her son something most would
consider a nightmare but she says
in america it's a privilege if i was
black or brown
if i was in different shoes in this life
i don't know that i would
have the luxury of saying i'm going to
stand between you
and my son i'm finding myself
fighting battles and in situations that
weren't
necessarily anything that i thought i
would but i get to go in there
with a different position of privilege
than other people do
the examples of these encounters
becoming deadly are countless
in texas patrick warren jr says he
called 9-1-1
asking for a mental health check-up of
his father only to see his dad gunned
down in front of him
in california the family of angelo
quinto says he was depressed and having
a mental health episode
and died days after an officer allegedly
put a knee on his neck
which the police deny in new york joe
prude called emergency services saying
his brother daniel had a history of
schizophrenia and was suicidal
daniel died days after officers placed a
mesh hood over his head
face down after he spat at them police
related deaths like these
have sparked growing calls to reimagine
policing in america
in jamaica queens new york erica ford is
the ceo of
life camp a crisis management service
similar to cahoots in eugene
her team is partnering with the nypd to
address issues like mental illness and
the police response to it
in hopes of ending gun violence out
there doing dynamic work for the
community
the problem is in the general training
how much do you respect the community
that you say you're serving protecting
it takes us not living in our own lenses
and our own history is about how we
approach any individual
and already among the people listening
to erica and her team
is the biden administration proposing a
federal plan to allocate
five billion dollars toward
community-based policing
the whole system comes at mental health
right
we need to shift some of the allocations
of what nypd is doing
to the funds of the new york city crisis
management system
of course the best response to a mental
health crisis is one that treats the
illness
before it's a crisis right now in this
country with this
health care system that can come at a
heavy cost i'm doing the best i can but
i mean
even me with everything in my favor it's
been nearly impossible and it's taken
over my whole life
your son is not who he was supposed to
be
as you've said what are your hopes and
dreams for nick
now in the early years when it was so
hard and i was trying to hold everything
together
a little routine where i would after
dinner i would go in the bathroom and i
would run the shower and i would just
lie down on the bathroom floor and cry
and um one day i came out of my little
cry fest
and there was one of my daughters and
she said to me mom
why are you crying and i said i'm crying
because i miss your brother
and she says what do you mean you miss
him he's not gone he's still
here and i just said yeah but he's not
who he was supposed to be
and she looks at me and she says yeah he
is
it's just not what you thought
such an important story to tell our
thanks to trevor for bringing that to us
hi everyone george stephanopoulos here
thanks for checking out the abc news
youtube channel
if you'd like to get more videos show
highlights and watch live event coverage
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