This month, Community Outreach Psychiatric Emergency Services (COPES) and the City of Tulsa are set to introduce a pioneering approach to handling mental health 911 calls, marking a first for the state.
“Integrating the ability to dispatch appropriate co-responder teams, including civilian mental health professionals, through the 911 dispatch system ensures that individuals receive the right level of care,” said Amanda Bradley, Vice President of COPES. “By placing trained experts in mental health at the scene as first responders, we can effectively address complex situations with the expertise required for a compassionate and appropriate response.”
Capt. Shellie Seibert, in a recent interview with KOTV News on 6, emphasized the over two-decade-long collaboration that led to the creation of three specialized response teams:
- Community Response Team (CRT): This team comprises a Tulsa Fire Department paramedic, an FCS licensed mental health professional, and a Tulsa Police Department officer, all in one vehicle, responding to 911 mental health calls.
- Integrated Response Team (IRT): This team includes FCS licensed mental health professionals stationed at each Tulsa Police Department patrol division in the evenings to respond with officers to mental health calls.
- Alternative Response Team (ART): This team features a Tulsa Fire Department paramedic, and an FCS licensed mental health professional responding to 911 mental health emergencies.
“Tulsa’s always ahead of everything. We’ve been doing this for a while now,” said Capt. Seibert, mental health coordinator for the Tulsa Police Department. “We’ve had response teams operating as the first response teams in Oklahoma as well. Having COPES be able to dispatch civilian mental health teams out of the 911 center is groundbreaking. There are models across the United States that do that, and I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished here in Tulsa.”
The new system will have the COPES team working as dispatchers in the City of Tulsa’s 911 public safety center, dispatching their mental health team. The aim is to reduce the number of mental health calls directed to police officers, ensuring that calls not requiring law enforcement involvement are managed by the COPES team.
Moving forward, citizens experiencing a mental health episode are encouraged to call 988, not 911, unless there is a public safety threat. Additionally, they can contact COPES at 918.744.4800.
