It's been three months since officers shot and killed Melissa Perez. The department is working to expand its mental health unit to increase its response.
They’re a team made up of a trained police officer, an SAFD paramedic and a licensed mental health clinician to respond to mental health crises. Right now, the team works two shifts, covering 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day.
Falks said the department is looking to expand its Mental Health Unit, but in the meantime, the force is working to train all of its officers on mental health response. This will take three years to complete.With how busy officers are across San Antonio, Metshin said training yourself and your family in de-escalation and asking direct questions can change crisis outcomes.
“We can help triage so that we’re not over-inundating the system so that we’re not just relying on those services that are dying for manpower,” Metshin said. “The more people we can teach to engage in those conversations, the more care we’re actually spreading across the community.” Even with mental health at the forefront of city council and SAPD budget discussions, Falks said more must be done.More on KSAT:Avery Everett is a news reporter and multimedia journalist at KSAT 12 News. Avery is a Philadelphia native. If she’s not at the station, she’s either on a hiking or biking trail.
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