A community conversation about creating an emergency response service for mental health calls as an alternative to the police is taking place in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, this evening. WAMC’s Josh Landes has more.
Michael Hitchcock, one of the event’s organizers, says that this January’s Hinsdale police killing of a man in crisis with no mental health co-responders on scene underscores community calls for a new system that began in 2022, when another young man who called out for help was shot to death by police in Pittsfield.
“We want to create an alternative service that you can call instead of police for mental health crises, but not only for those crises that people wait so long to call the police until that's their last resort," Hitchcock told WAMC. "We want a service that's robust and available before that, and if people feel they won't get in trouble by calling, they might be more likely to call a little earlier before it's a panic state.”
The discussion will take place at the Berkshire Athenaeum at 5:30 p.m.
