Tag: Law Enforcement
Implementation of 988 line, community-based programs helping Texas address behavioral health crises
This article was published by State of Reform on March 18, 2024. Read the full article on State of Reform’s website. Behavioral health experts and community leaders met at the 2024 Texas State of Reform…
Focus on Officer Wellness: Moving Mental Health Out of the Shadows
This article was authored by the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute’s B.J. Wagner, Senior Vice President of Health and Public Safety and Jeff Spivey, Senior Fellow of Law Enforcement Policy and was originally published in…
DART Cares program aims to help unhoused residents find shelter
This article was published by KERA News on September 14, 2023. Beginning next month, Dallas Area Rapid Transit will begin testing a program to respond to the needs of riders experiencing homelessness. The goal of…
Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute Launches Texas Blue Chip Program
DALLAS, Texas (August 21, 2023) – The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute is proud to announce the official launch of the Texas Blue Chip Program, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at offering law enforcement officers an additional…
Law enforcement suicide: How state & federal governments support officers, track deaths
This article was published by KXAN Austin on July 5, 2023. AUSTIN (KXAN) — “Cops are those individuals others look to solve problems and protect persons in need. Weakness is not seen as an…
88th Texas Legislature Regular Session Wrap Up
SUMMARY – The 88th Legislature delivered a record $11.68 billion for behavioral health, an increase of more than 30% from the previous session. Senator Joan Huffman, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, called it...
Galveston’s mental health unit making a difference, officials say
This article was published by Galveston County Daily News on May 4, 2023. The woman had tried to commit suicide Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, she was sitting in the alley behind a gas station…
Galveston Launches Mental Health Crisis Response Teams
GALVESTON – Galveston city and county officials, in partnership with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and other Galveston foundations today announced the launch of a…
City of Galveston COAST Multidisciplinary Response Program
SUMMARY - COAST is a multidisciplinary, comprehensive response program to improve 9-1-1 mental health emergency call response in the Galveston area designed by the Meadows Institute in partnership with Galveston city and county officials,...
How Meadows Is Diversifying Crisis Response in Texas
This article was published by D Magazine on March 20, 2023. Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute is helping other cities launch teams that can respond to mental health crises and divert individuals experiencing psychiatric episodes…
Lifeline: The 988 Podcast
Learn all about 988, the new national suicide and crisis lifeline launched by the U.S. government in July 2022, in this nine-part limited series podcast. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National…
City of Abilene Multidisciplinary Community Response Team Study
The City of Abilene launched a multidisciplinary Community Response Team to improve justice system performance in responding to mental health crisis 911 calls. The Meadows Institute was engaged to provide technical assistance, research expertise,...
Chicago Mental Health Crisis Pilot Promising, Small — and Still Using Police
This article was originally published by Bloomberg News on October 19, 2022. A Chicago pilot program that dispatches mental health clinicians and emergency medical responders to some 911 calls has connected 385 people to care…
Galena Park ISD launches ‘Handle with Care’ program to help kids coping with trauma
This article was originally published by the Houston Chronicle on October 13, 2022. Educators are teaming up with law enforcement to launch a program at a Houston-area school district that aims to quickly link students…
Hundreds of police officers have signed up for Texas mental-health program, officials say
This article was originally published by Dallas Morning News on September 8, 2022. Hundreds of officers in Texas have signed up for a new state program that aims to reduce police suicide and self-harm rates…
Former Rockwall Police Chief Max Geron Joins Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute as Senior Director of Health & Public Safety
AUSTIN – Max Geron, former Chief of the Rockwall Police Department, has joined the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute as Senior Director of Health and Public Safety, effective August 1. In that role, Geron will…
Thousands of 911 calls on track to be diverted from APD to mental health clinicians
This article was originally published by the FOX 7 Austin Digital Team on April 19, 2022. AUSTIN, Texas – Thousands of 911 calls are on track to be diverted away from law enforcement to mental…
87th Texas Legislature Regular Session Wrap Up
SUMMARY - Throughout what was a challenging and, at times, divisive legislative session, one area of full agreement among state leaders was that mental health continues to be paramount to Texas’ present and future.
Policing in a Pandemic: Peer Support Webinar Series
In April 2020, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute began filming the “Policing in a Pandemic” virtual peer support series in partnership with the Caruth Police Institute. Guest speakers were invited to discuss topics such as…
GREAT IDEAS 2020: IACP Recognizes Texas First Responder Peer Network
POLICE LEADERS WORLDWIDE ARE AWARE THAT SUICIDE AMONG LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IS ENDEMIC. In 2019, at least 228 police officers died by suicide in the United States alone, eclipsing line-of-duty deaths in the same year…