LoginThe Metro: Social workers are a part of police departments. When should they be called to act?
When someone is in distress, who should respond to the call for help? Police officers or social workers?
After the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement, police departments reformed. Throughout the country and around Michigan, police hired mental health professionals — or co-responders — to respond to 911 calls, alone or with cops.
Now, the question of who should take the lead on distress calls has become all the more pressing. Last month, this query was thrust into the public eye once again. That’s when Ypsilanti residents became upset after a SWAT team had a 30-hour standoff with someone they say was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Hillary Nusbaum is a co-responder supervisor for the Oakland Community Health Network. Her organization partners with Oakland County police departments by having co-responders work alongside police officers.
Producer Sam Corey spoke with Nusbaum about what a co-responder does and when they should be called to take action on a 911 call.
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