It should be fascinating to watch how this works out. It’s not completely clear if the mental health people are going with security or in place of them.
The Baltimore Sun reports:
Johns Hopkins University to begin sending mental health providers on security callsThe Johns Hopkins University plans in the fall to begin sending trained mental health providers on calls to campus security from students and staff who may be having a crisis.The move is similar to pilot programs recently announced in Baltimore city and county, and reflects a movement around the country to better tend to the mental health needs of the community and avoid unnecessary police involvement.“It became clear that many of the calls being addressed by campus safety and security could be more effectively and appropriately handled by behavioral health clinicians,” said Ronald J. Daniels, the university president, and other Hopkins leaders in a message to the Hopkins community.“Put simply, it was time for a new approach,” the message read. The Behavioral Health Crisis Support Team “will provide immediate assistance to those who need it and, just as importantly, link individuals in crisis to ongoing university support services in the days and weeks that follow.”The plan is to pilot the program for the first year around the Homewood campus. Officials will respond to calls from affiliated students and staff, as well as others who live in the close-in communities.
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