New York Times Op-Ed: Where Police Violence Encounters Mental Illness

Dana January 14, 2016 Helplines

An Op-Ed in Wednesday’s New York Times discusses the tragedy that can sometimes occur when police find themselves responding to a person with mental illness, and the investments needed to prevent it.

Nearly 20 years ago, I was a social worker in a county jail where I first began to understand just how frequently the police deal with people with mental illnesses. Run-ins with the police were a regular occurrence for many of my clients, with officers often knowing them by name.

Tags: mental illness

Dana

Dana joined the iCarol team in 2013 after 12 years of direct service and administrative duties at a suicide prevention, crisis intervention, and empathetic listening helpline that also served as a 2-1-1 information and referral service. As the Communications and Social Media Manager at iCarol, you’ll find her presenting Webinars, Tweeting, Blogging, Facebooking, and producing other materials that aid helplines in their work.
In her spare time, Dana enjoys birdwatching, gardening, animal caregiving, and spending time with her family.