Counselors To Help With Mental Health 911 Calls In Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A memorandum of understanding has been established between the Howard County Police Department and Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center for help in handling non-emergency mental health 911 calls. The new program, known as “Communications Initiated Referral to Crisis,” begins July 1 and allows dispatchers to divert qualifying calls to a certified counselor at Grassroots.

“Every day people experiencing mental health challenges in our community call 911 in search of support and someone to help in a crisis,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said at a news conference. “When there is not an immediate safety issue, many of these callers would be best supported by being directly connected with mental health professionals, instead of receiving a police response. Our goal is to meet the specific needs of each member of our community by directing them to the right services – especially during a time when more of our residents are struggling with mental health.”

Many callers utilize 9-1-1 services to address common mental health concerns and incidents, even though many of these callers would be better served by a more immediate connection to mental health services. Connecting these callers with Grassroots allows the county to increase coordination and provide a more appropriate level of response at the time when someone needs it most. In 2020, Howard County dispatchers received approximately 1,789 calls for service which involved a behavioral or mental health-related issue.

Grassroots has a trained team of hotline workers that are skilled in handling calls with those in crisis and provide rapid access to community-based services including those involving substance abuse.

“When someone is having a mental health crisis, often the first person they reach out to is a 911 dispatcher,” Howard County Police Chief Lisa Myers said at the news conference. “Our dispatchers excel at keeping people calm and ensuring they get the help they need. This program gives them an additional tool to refer callers who are not at immediate risk directly to counseling services.”

Prior to transferring a call to the Grassroots Crisis Line, HCPD staff will eliminate that the caller:

• Presents any immediate harm to self or others
• Gives any indication they possess or have immediate access to a weapon or other means of immediate harm
• Indicates the presence of a plan
• Is under 18 years of age
• Indicates any use of drugs or alcohol

"When a loved one is having a mental health crisis, it’s traumatic for the entire family,” Denise Giuliano, NAMI-Howard County Executive Director, said. “No family member, especially a parent, ever wants to call the police on their loved one but unfortunately, sometimes it’s the safest option for both the family and for the one in crisis. The Communications Initiated Referral to Crisis (CIRC) protocols will help ensure that those in crisis get the help they need immediately and by the most appropriate source."