I am working with Cascadia Behavioral Health, Multnomah County, the Portland Police Bureau, the Bureau of Emergency Communications and other providers and customers, in a three-year collaborative partnership aimed at reducing interactions between police and people experiencing mental illness.
Safer PDX is 1 of 5 national pilot projects working together with the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law in Washington DC. Cascadia Behavioral Health Care was asked by Bazelon to participate and serves as the lead for the Portland site
- This project aims to bring together stakeholders in the mental health and public safety communities to determine solutions to decrease tragic outcomes between people in mental crisis and law enforcement
- The Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (LPSCC)’s Mental Health & Public Safety Subcommittee also works to provide coordination and oversight at the intersection of the public safety and mental health systems
- The LPSCC analyzes existing systems to determine where the gaps and barriers are and finding solutions to those gaps
- Key partners include:
- Dr. Maggie Bennington-Davis and Dr. Bill Nunley, Cascadia Behavioral Health Care
- Joanne Fuller, Chief Operating Officer for Multnomah County
- Captain Sara Westbrook, Portland Police Bureau
- Melanie Payne, Bureau of Emergency Communications
- Suzanne Hayden, Executive Director, Citizens Crime Commission
- Donetta Hayes, Mental Health America - Oregon
- Jay Auslander, Project Respond
- Liesbeth Gerritsen, Crisis Intervention Training specialist, Portland Police Bureau
- Commissioner Judy Shiprack, Multnomah County
The Council video presentation on the crucial work of Safer PDX, formerly known as the Bazelon Project, is here. The report is at the start of the video. The PowerPoint presentation is here.
|
