Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety held its inaugural Behavioral Health Deflection Summit in Jackson on Tuesday, bringing together first responders to address mental health and drug treatment services. The summit was designed to provide information on mental health and drug treatment services and create discussion on policy solutions to current issues in Mississippi’s approach to those treatments.
Current System Failures
Keith Davis, deputy commissioner of operations for MDPS, spoke on Mississippi’s current approach to drug use and mental health treatment, stating clearly that “currently, our solution to this problem is not helping.” Davis noted that law enforcement is often forced to respond by finding people and placing them in the Hinds County Jail—a result he said is not where they need to be. “They need help,” Davis emphasized. “Collectively, the people in this room associated with this conversation today will help drive some ideas or solutions.”
Partnership and Response
The Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Mississippi State Department of Health, Mississippi Public Health Institute, University of Mississippi Medical Center, and First Responders of Mississippi partnered to host the summit. Mary Eileen Paradis, UMMC chief of police and executive of public safety, noted that the center’s behavioral response team ran more than 200 threat assessments last year, many of which were drug or mental-health related. “My officers are often the first touch with that person,” she noted, explaining that this gives an opportunity to do preliminary investigation and partner with relevant agencies.
Next Steps
During the next legislative season, members of the summit plan to take the ideas and solutions generated and implement them into policy change.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2024/09/17/behavioral-health-summit-encourages-change-in-drug-mental-health-stigma/75263656007/