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The Mental Health Work Group spun off from an organization involved in addressing police brutality issues, is hosting a community discussion July 24 at the North Branch Library.  Free and open to the public this starts at 5:30 p.m., with refreshments being served.

The topic will be how to improve local crisis team services and what can be done to promote their use in 9-1-1 situations.  

Mental health care and support was written into state law and required of all counties in Minnesota.  Agencies are mandated to have mental health specialists or crisis providers on call for incidents like the recent officer-involved shooting death of a suicidal subject in North Branch.  Jaimie Crabtree died of multiple gunshot wounds when officers who were dispatched for a suicidal person,  located her in the street allegedly armed.

The program July 24 will involve discussion about how local citizens can improve use of non-lethal response teams and ensure Chisago County funds the required services.  The timing for this community discussion could be helpful in putting together a request for funding.  The legislature also has set up a nearly $2 million grant pool with applications due by August 2 2024.

Michelle Gross, representing the mental health working group, says not dispatching crisis teams in recent local situations is a violation of “Travis’s Law” which was enacted in 2022.  The law says crisis teams “shall” be dispatched when appropriate, a change from earlier legal state law that a team “may” be sent.  The law states the county board of commissioners is responsible to contract with a crisis team provider.

  Gross invites the public to come to the library community room to learn more.

For more information see https://www.cuapb.org/mental_health.

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