i also want to make sure that we think chief godown, the mental health stakeholders, and the department of public health, the mental health board, and the coalition on homelessness. i am sure i am leaving out a few amazing people that helped in this effort. in particular, and joyce hicks from the -- going into the model, the commission finance the about the last week, it is called the crisis intervention teams. it is an innovative first responder model of police-based police-based intervention with police and attkisson partnerships. developed by the memphis police department in 1988, the memphis model is recognized as the best breakfast by the u.s. department of justice and also by the u.s. department of health and human services. in addition to the partnership among law enforcement, mental health providers, and community advocates, the memphis model relies on specially trained cit officers, while continuing their duty as regular officers in their district, there also dispatched as first responders to mental health calls. a good parallel would be the swat team, gang task force. this is

from reentry, from jail, from mental health, from the full department of public health, the department of human resources. they have all really got to be working together because the police cannot be out there working alone. it is really not fair. supervisor mirkarimi: i very much thank you for that presentation. from my experience when i went to the san francisco police academy, that was not part of our training at all. it was not part of the coast- curriculum, even though there were some modifications to the curriculum here in san francisco to add to more specialized training, and we had that, but on mental health, that was not part of the eight-hour block. so of that was part of the primary, what about the veteran officers? how about the veteran officers who have already established their habits? been in the departments, and influenced by certain practices? how would the navy influenced after they had become more molded than the academy recruit that was just trying to get through in the launch of their careers? >> a couple of things -- one thing that the chief did while she was here

it at first focused on the mental health issue. supervisor campos: a lot of credit has to be given to you for raising that issue and also to the president who ultimately controls the agenda, and for his willingness to listen and be responsive. one of the things i thought was an unfortunate as the issue of mental health was juxtaposed to the issue of tasers was the statement by former chief gascon where the issue happen in the tragedy happened where there were some mental health issues involved and pointing to that as a justification, in my view, without fully knowing exactly what transpired in that incident and whether or not it was prudent -- proven with any certainty that one tool or another would have prevented the tragedy. so i think that we have to be very careful about how we talk about mental health, how we talk about tasers, and i think that the commission needs to be given credit for that. with respect to the message model, i wonder, commissioner, the extent to which this remarkable outcome of of raising this very successf

that is the mental health working group. this is comprised of the coordinator, the stakeholders, and the department of public health is encouraged to join us. i've talked with at the mental health association. many organizations are a interested in helping. seeing through this group that the training, the policy -- it is through this group that the training, the policy initiatives will be enacted. officers will receive a minimum of 40 hours' training on this. all officers will receive 16 hours regarding mental health crisis response. in addition, the officers will receive additional training every two years thereafter. advanced and field training will be given on this issue. the mental health working group and sf pd will create a system wide assess the response team. you will learn more about this in our presentation. this model is borrowed from los angeles. they have an amazing program where they have a code response. the reason why they can't do this is that they have a large amount of resources. -- the reason why they can

we have five mental health clinics throughout the city that can act in addressing the needs of patients or clients who are in crisis, but of course, it is during regular office hours. the department of public health internally is very committed to this effort, and we will engage in diligence to see how our system needs to reorient, needs to be retooled in light of the fact that we have very important, very promising program that is a priority. supervisor mirkarimi: with so many options, which is good for the officer and for the city to be able to direct somebody, who gets first stab at that but they? the police officer or dph, when the need calls for deciding where that person goes? i imagine it is the police officer. >> it is the police officer. in 95% of cases. supervisor mirkarimi: right, so their training, which gets down to the premise of this hearing is essential in determining how they are going to treat that person with regard to where they are going to take them -- either to county jail or to one of these centers the that much more specialized, and the author has to make the ca

the mental health issues in the city of san francisco are great. but what has really brought us to where we are now is -- are several i would say high-profile shootings involving those with mental illness. i can't remember the name of the woman in the position. there was everything from angst to outrage because of that. what i want to know is, it really comes down to, what adults are going to do. with this model, how would those things have ruled out differently? now, i work with young people who are put in dangerous situations every day. i have to do a couple things for them. i have to be able to tell them how to cut down the chance they will be in those situations in the first place, and when they end up in those situations, i have to tell them what to do. if not, i'm not doing them any good, because i want to keep them alive and free. so the officers are confronted with these incidents. so i would like to know from you, how would those things be handled differently? how would they be handled in the future? >> the circumstances in every community

safety net, but what i would hope is that emerging from this discussion and in partnership with the mental health department, the behavioral health department will be more forward-looking about getting people what they need that does not necessarily involve always the emergency response teams. you guys have brought the question forward, and i think it is relate an important question to ask. what could we be doing better? as an example, -- supervisor mirkarimi: i'm just curious. you use the example of if you're going to have any emergency, call 911. what would be the alton bit? >> there are a few things you could do a. as an example, you could say, "if you are in serious distress, call the national suicide prevention lifeline." they are trained like it -- trained counselors in every area. there could also be a number for referral to a 24/7 mental health hot line that gives them the next referral. sometimes, it would have to be to the police. supervisor mirkarimi: to speak to that reality, we do not have that? in sentences go? a 24-hour hot line beyond the 911? >> other than the suicide prevention

when the terrain of san francisco is that there are quite a few people with mental health needs that are engaged by the police department. the police department needs to take people to our public health system. based just on the population of those needs, those people, what do you say to that? >> we had an opportunity to speak -- to meet extensively with dr. dupont and major cochrane from the memphis police department when they came to stand in cisco, and one of the things they told us after they had visited clinics and visited some of our treatment venues or given information on the spectrum of care and system of care that we have in san francisco -- one of the things they said was that it is very robust, very strong. this is many times the amount of resources and services that we have locally in memphis, so what that said to us is that we need to work better in terms of our coordination, in terms of optimal utilization. the department has worked very hard over the last 10 years to create a matrix of services, to respond to individuals who may be having a psychotic episode, and i can

mental health crises are going to increase with the death of 1,000 cuts that has happened to mental health funding over the past few years, and i urge you to adopt this resolution before you, and look more closely and adopt a model like memphis has. i don't believe it will solve all of the problems related to mental health crisis, but it will certainly be a good start. thank you. >> good evening. flm director for the coalition on mome homelessness. i want to read through the recommendations. a group of us got together shortly after the latest non-lethal shooting of randal duncan. the mental health board, ourselves, the education, conservation, and national association for the mentally ill of san francisco. and what we attempted to do was come with consensus recommendations to you regarding how to address the response to people who were experiencing a psychiatric crises by the police department. we had basically three recommendations. we did not have a chance to look at the rezzluge at the meeting as a whole, but i think you will see the resolution experience is very much in line with

the mental health issues in the city of san francisco are great. but what has really brought us to where we are now is -- are several i would say high-profile shootings involving those with mental illness. i can't remember the name of the woman in the position. there was everything from ans

this time, has to do with psychiatric component of this and diverting people to the appropriate mental health help and making it work so that it works for everybody, and i'm hearing a bit tonight around police officers having done that but the midnightal health facilities, they don't feel like they are adequately getting help. and then the other side of things that i was reading and the documentation that you provided to us is that if it requires eight or 10 hours for a police officer to sit in an emergency room or sit with somebody they are bringing into a facility, they are going to find it more expedestrian dishes -- expedicious to put them in jail. you heard about the capacity of the public health facility. what kind of support do you need in terms of hours on coverage, and to make that part of this? it sounds very critical to this working. >> if you are in a situation where you are suffering budget cuts it always feels very, very discouraging. as an outsider, i look at your services. there is a concern for the safety nets. i do think one of the things i recommend, there is a study commit

first of all, i met officers, mental health advocates, mental health providers, all of whom knew each other and knew what worked and you have been committed for many years to solve problems and who were communicating with each other. also i have met individuals who are passionate about the issues. that went from members of the police department to members of 58 hospital to the officers who drove us around. -- members of the v.a. hospital. this was overwhelming. it was what i brought back and what i wanted to meet with and speak with my director at meet with people to be able to convey that level of commitment and compassion and work. that is one of the key components that i took away was that type of partnership where there is leadership from the resmae segments where i was meeting with leaders from the police department and mental- health and the advocates of himself. there was that leadership, partnership, and commitment. the other aspect that was unique and different was the way in which officers operate. in addition to going through training, they volunteered to be officers which

are dealing with regarding their own mental health.i think we are going to make great strides. i will allow both commissioners to give you their opinion. commissioner hammer: i want to echo what he said and want to particularly thank you. commissioner chan took extra time to reach out to mental health advocates in the city. it is becoming clear to me that most successful models involve real partnership, not just in the training stage, but as it goes on. we train specialists not just for a 24-hour course. the central part of what they do when they are not patrolling -- they are called to scenes, where they become experts. there are less injuries to our officers and other people. it is extraordinary. i am incredibly encouraged by the chiefs. but during 9, when we have this hearing, we can move the department -- but february 9, when we have this hearing, we can remove the department for work. we have the chance to avoid violence, to help our officers get to a situation where they do not have to use any kind of force. i want to think commi

. -- mental health care gets involved. those who provide this back to the planning group, you end up with a feedback loop. we have constantly change this based on feedback from the citizens, police, and the advocates. our officers have given us the feedback to help them develop this over the years and they have played a role in helping us understand what works better turned down -- works better. when you get individuals involved, you can come up with exciting solutions. we not only involve the community but we are talking about what we have in the police department itself. there needs to be training. we need to have new procedures. from that outgrowth comes an officer who is a volunteer who would become involved in a new role that they have been specially selected for. we're looking at alternative options. we want them to maintain their safety skills and for them to get new skills that will allow them to intervene in a productive fashion. they will lead the intervention. they will not override supervision. this is the pers

recovery month promotes the benefits of substance use and mental health disorder treatment and recovery- for individuals, their families, and their communities. it recognizes the contributions of treatment providers and promotes the message that behavioral health is an essential component of health services, that prevention works, and that treatment is effective. people can and do recover. this year's recovery month theme is "now more than ever"- it reminds us of how much has been accomplished in these very exciting and challenging months, but how much we need to focus on a wide range of issues. our principle focus on recovery month is celebrating recovery. some of you today are celebrating your own recovery by sharing your stories with others. so i applaud your willingness to take the message of recovery to those who need to hear it. you continue to be one of our most powerful tools. what began as a small and very good idea has grown into a national, mainstream, sustained, and systematic public education and support effort, all focused on the message that people recover. that message i

and we're meeting with politicians and other mental health providers. these types of events are important to highlight. it's important because we are educating the public about both mental health issues and substance abuse issues. we're also, by holding these types of events, we're also working to reduce the stigma associated with mental health or substance abuse issues. this year, we're tying it into waterfire. we're taking the light of remembrance from here out into the general public out into waterfire, the 20,000 people that are there to basically say, each of us is important, each of us has a voice, and this issue is important. it raises a level of awareness to have an event such as this associated with waterfire, which has a great reputation. we took it out of an indoor facility, because we wanted to give the message that we're not hiding. that the face of recovery needs to be out in the open. we need to dispel the myth and the stigma of substance abuse and mental illness. we are always looking to help people improve the quality of their lives, an

and these were, these were doctoral level, most doctoral level mental health clinicians. so it may be that even unconsciously it triggers a bias that people aren't even aware of. i think this is very important because even though we may use the term ourselves, thinking well, i don't mean it like that, i mean it like this. i mean in a more general sense and i certainly don't mean it in a stigmatizing way. but what can be conveyed and picked up, unconsciously perhaps, is that it does evoke, elicit, these more punitive attitudes towards these individuals. and when we come back, we're going to continue to chat about that and i think we need to get into a dialogue about how we can change this. we'll be right back. [music] it's important to be familiar with the proper terminologies surrounding addiction and recovery. one of the terms you'll want to be familiar with is, discrimination. discrimination is treating someone less favorably than someone else because he or she has, once had, or is regarded as having a disability. for more information on this and other recovery jargon,

are not supposed to miss use mental health services to punish government whistleblowers like myself. thank you. >> are there other members of the public who wish to speak? public, disclosed. we have a motion to send it for with recommendations. seconded without objections. >> item 4 is a resolution authorizing the san francisco department public health to retroactively accept and expand a grant from the substance abuse and mental health services in the amount of -- from the time of the september 30, 2000 tend through september 29th, to dow's 11. >> this mimics what we spoke about previously. this is an additional grant we hope to use to implement an intensive outpatient program on site at the community justice center located at 557 poll street. the community justice center, which is a collaborative effort between various groups and a superior court has been working to service those who would otherwise wind up under a justice mandate or within the criminal justice system. we would recommend approval of this grant application and we also have the coordinator of the community justice ce