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Early intervention program to stem domestic violence in Poughkeepsie faces resistance

Saba Ali

March 03, 2021 |

Poughkeepsie Journal |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kingston, New York

An early-intervention program targets people suspected of domestic violence with services meant to end the abuse through deterrence and counseling rather than after-the-fact punishment. In Kingston, New York, the Intimate Partners Violence Intervention program has contributed to a 36% drop in reported abuse and a low recidivism rate. Multiple agencies provide services aimed at prevention of abuse, while police arrest threats escalate depending on the severity and frequency of the abuse. In nearby Poughkeepsie, the program's development has been stalled by objections from criminal defense lawyers.

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Schools Look To Algorithms To Flag Students Who May Harm Themselves

Alisa Roth

March 03, 2021 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Mason City, Iowa

Companies like Gaggle are typically used by school districts to track student online behavior, but now they are tracking something else—self-harm. Machine learning flags words that might indicate a student is thinking of hurting themselves. “It gives us insight into what the student's thinking.” Gaggle identified 64,000 student references to suicide and self-harm. The company claims to have saved 927 student lives. In Mason City, districts receive alerts when a student’s search is flagged. “Nicole Pfirman says there have been a few times where she believes an alert saved a kid's life.”

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Here's What Happens When Social Workers, Not Police, Respond To Mental Health Crises

Christina Jedra

March 01, 2021 |

Honolulu Civil Beat |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

Honolulu could benefit from adopting the approach to mental-health crisis calls to 911 that Eugene, Oregon, uses. But it would need to make big changes first in its critical infrastructure. Eugene's CAHOOTS program sends counselors and medics on 17% of the calls coming to its city's 911 center, saving millions on police, ambulances, and emergency room visits. Non-police responders de-escalate potential conflicts and get people the help they need without arrest or violence. Honolulu is primed to examine this approach, as many cities have done, but it's not a simple matter to start it.

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This Alabama school's mental health program is a model for the state

Trisha Powell Crain

February 28, 2021 |

AL.com (Alabama Media Group) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Florence, Alabama

School counselors in Alabama's schools are providing students with mental health care resources. Florence City Schools partnered with local organizations to provide therapists on-site, as well as social workers. "Currently, 97 of Alabama’s 138 school districts and all five public charter schools have applied for and received $40,000 each to go toward paying the salary of a master’s-level mental health professional to coordinate the district’s mental health efforts for students."

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An AI is training counselors to deal with teens in crisis

Karen Hao Abby Ohlheiser

February 26, 2021 |

MIT Technology Review |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Crisis hotlines and chat services are turning to technologies such as AI tools to help assist an oft-overburdened system. At The Trevor Project, AI is used as both a risk assessment tool and as a role-play simulator to train volunteer counselors to correspond with callers. Users of these tools stress that they are not a replacement for counselors, but rather a tool to help the humans in these roles.

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Cops and Hippies

David Byrne

February 26, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

The CAHOOTS program, which sends medics and counselors on certain 911 calls instead of the police, has become a national model in the wake of 2020's criminal-justice protests. But its roots reach back half a century, when a free medical clinic serving the hippie counterculture emerged as a public-health response to drug, mental health, and other non-violent emergencies. CAHOOTS has grown into a 24/7 service that saves Eugene millions in policing and medical spending, and saves many on the streets from unnecessarily punitive interactions with the police.

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Removing Obstacles to Mental Health Care — Over the Phone

Prudence Phiri

February 25, 2021 |

Global Press Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Zambia

StrongMinds Zambia began offering teletherapy, in part due to COVID-19 related restrictions, but also to address the many new stressors that came with the pandemic. Counselors hold group calls with five people twice a week for five weeks. Clients are not charged for treatment or the calling costs. Some of the 1,500 women and about 100 men treated via teletherapy express the benefit of anonymity that speaking over the phone brings in a therapy setting. Without fear of being identified, clients feel more comfortable talking freely, especially given existing stigmas surrounding mental health issues.

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How does Portland's Street Response Team compare with a similar program in Denver?

Dan Haggerty

February 24, 2021 |

KGW-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Although Eugene, Oregon's long-running, successful CAHOOTS program serves as one model for the new Portland Street Response, a more relevant model can be found in Denver's STAR program. Like CAHOOTS, STAR responds to mental-health and other crisis calls with medics and counselors rather than police officers. But Denver's size, demographics, and homelessness make it much more analogous to Portland. In STAR's first six months, it handled nearly 750 calls without a single arrest. Both STAR and PSR are starting small, so more resources are needed if the pilot projects succeed.

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Medical Providers Are Taking Nature Therapy Seriously

Jenifer Frank

February 22, 2021 |

Connecticut Health Investigative Team |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New Haven, Connecticut

Medical providers are increasingly prescribing nature therapy – like walks, hikes, or recreational activities – as a way to help children and adults cope with life stressors. First popularized in Japan as "forest bathing," this practice has been shown to decrease a patient's anxiety and depression and increase their ability to concentrate.

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Online therapy helps students tackle mental health during pandemic

Julie Leopo

February 21, 2021 |

el Don |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Santa Ana, California

Santa Ana College offered mental health services online for students dealing with depression, anxiety, and other issues exacerbated by COVID-19. Hundreds of students utilized the services, which include ten counseling sessions students are allotted each year. Sessions are conducted over secure connections using any device that can access Canvas or by phone. The Health and Wellness Center also reaches students with an Instagram account and weekly Zoom workshops. The 23 workshops cover topics like self-care, procrastination, tips to better sleep at night, and coping with rejection and loss.

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