The need for dedicated mental health response services is gaining attention as cities grapple with the rising number of calls for well-being checks handled by police. Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham has called for the creation of a separate service for mental health emergencies, highlighting the growing need for alternatives to traditional policing.
Khalil Dorival knows what it's like to feel lonely. The Toronto-based mental health advocate has struggled with social anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. 'I really suffered in silence, and I used many ways to cope in unhealthy and toxic ways,' he says, adding he turned his life around and uses his story to try to help others. Dorival is a crisis worker with Toronto Community Crisis Service, a project launched in 2022 that responds to mental health crisis calls and wellness checks.
The service has been dubbed the city's fourth emergency response service — after police, paramedics and fire services. Other major cities are examining the benefits of an alternative model as they investigate police wellness checks that have led to fatalities. Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham has asked for the creation of an emergency service dedicated to mental health calls. 'There is an understanding across our nation and within Winnipeg that addictions are on the rise, mental health crises are on the rise, homelessness is on the rise,' he said in an interview.'We're in a time right now when the need, it seems, has never been greater.' Winnipeg police data from 2023 shows there were more than 21,000 calls for well-being checks, making it the top request for service for the fourth year in a row. 'When someone calls 911, we need to make sure we're sending them the right agency to respond to their need,' said Gillingham. Requests for a new way to handle mental health calls in the city were renewed last year after deaths while in police custody. In January, a man died after police used force to subdue and arrest him. The man was reported to have been acting erratically. He became unresponsive during the interaction and was later taken to hospital, where he died. In February, officers fatally shot a man while carrying out an order under the provincial Mental Health Act. Those two cases are being investigated by Manitoba's police watchdo
MENTALHEALTH CRISISRESPONSE EMERGENCYSERVICES WELLBEINGCHECKS POLICE
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