CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Mental health advocates are looking forward to a Chicago City Council committee hearing on Monday about the so-called Treatment Not Trauma ordinance, which proposes new ways to handle mental health crises.
One element of the Treatment Not Trauma proposals would establish crisis response teams to be dispatched — instead of police — when someone is having a mental health crisis. The City has already been testing a similar kind of response team in which a mental health professional and a police officer respond to a scene together.
The hope is that the clinician can calm the situation, and the officer can step in if things escalate.
Dr. Arturo Carrillo, the deputy medical director for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC), said a problem with the dual approach is that an officer's presence can, itself, escalate the situation.
“If you’re driving down the street and the police officers pulls up behind you, your anxiety’s going to spike at that moment on your best day,” he said. “Now, on your worst day, just the physical presence of a police officer can escalate situations immediately.”
Any Huamani, an organizer with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC), added that cases like that too often end with the person in need of help being hurt or killed.
“The biggest issue here is the police officer being present,” Huamani said. “These are officers that get a 40-hour to ‘understand a person in crisis and what to do in crisis,’ while there are mental professionals and licensed professionals that need over 800 hours to understand what happens in crisis and how to de-escalate these situations.”
The clinicians can summon police if they feel it’s needed, added Cheryl Miller, with Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP).
“They call for backup,” Miller said. “It’s the same in any situation.”
Huamani said she’s hopeful that the Treatment Not Trauma ordinance will advance under Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration, which she described as “understanding and willing to work with us.”
“I’m sure there’s going to be something,” she said. “The money is there. Resources are there. This can be funded, and we’re going to continue advocating.”
They hope to make the case at Monday’s Committee on Health and Human Relations meeting at 10 a.m. The meeting’s agenda may be found here.
Treatment Not Trauma is the topic of this weekend’s “At Issue” program, which can be heard in its entirety at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, as well as on the Audacy app or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
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