Mayor Emanuel announced another step forward in the city’s efforts to improve crisis response for individuals with mental illness as part of the city’s ongoing police reform efforts that includes strengthening mental health crisis response. Over the last eight months, more than 500 community members in Austin, Garfield Park and North Lawndale have received free mental health awareness training to reduce stigma and provide information on emergency response resources. The successful pilot trained more than 500 west side residents in awareness and identification of the signs and symptoms of a possible mental health crisis. In addition, residents learned about support services available from the City and community organizations, including the option to request a specially trained Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained police officer in the event of a crisis.

The pilot project grew out of Mayor Emanuel’s Citywide Mental Health Response Steering Committee, a coordinated effort to address how the city’s first responders can better serve individuals with mental illness. The goal was to free mental health training to 400 community members in partnership with schools, faith-based institutions and community organizations in the west site. The University in Chicago (UIC) Jane Addams College of Social Work is spearheading an evaluation of the effectiveness of this training and presented an interim report to West Side Outreach Project organizers. UIC researchers confirmed that the preliminary results of the pilot show decreased stigma associated with mental health and addiction, increased knowledge and comfort in contacting a CIT trained police officer, increased knowledge about mental health and increased confidence that they could assist someone in need. Additionally, of the 296 people who participated in the study, a majority, approximately 70 percent, said that either they personally have, or a family member has, experienced mental health challenges. The final report from UIC will be released early 2018 and will include additional findings to determine if the trainings resulted in referrals to community mental health services and increased requests for CIT trained officers in these communities.