Q&A
Trends in mental health emergency calls
1:51:07
·
105 sec
Council Member Yusef Salaam inquires about the number of 911 mental health calls and trends over recent years. Assistant Chief Cesar Escobar provides data on the increase in mental health emergencies, while Laquisha Grant explains the current routing of 911 calls.
- Mental health emergencies in New York City have increased by 12% since 2019
- There are fluctuations in the number of mental health calls from year to year
- All 911 calls currently receive an emergency response from either NYPD and/or EMS, with no option to refer calls to other resources like NYCWell or 988
Yusef Salaam
1:51:07
Of the emergency calls, how many 911 mental health calls?
1:51:12
Were there and I'm wondering by year for the year 2023, 2022, 21, 2019, etcetera.
1:51:19
And are there any trends of such calls increasing over the recent years?
Cesar Escobar
1:51:29
So according to our data, our mental health emergencies overall in New York City have gone up by 12% since 2019.
1:51:40
We certainly can get specific numbers for every year, but we have seen an increase in mental health emergencies in the past few years.
Yusef Salaam
1:51:51
Not 12% per year, but over the
Cesar Escobar
1:51:55
Yes, since 2019 overall.
Yusef Salaam
1:51:58
Okay.
Cesar Escobar
1:51:58
So there is fluctuations in some years.
1:52:01
We have higher numbers of mental health calls, some years at dips, but overall, it has been increasing by 12%.
Yusef Salaam
1:52:12
Of 911 mental health calls, how many result in emergency dispatch, and how many calls were referred to other resources, for instance, NYSEWell, other or community based services.
Laquisha Grant
1:52:30
So we don't currently have an option to send 911 calls outside of the 911 system.
1:52:35
So not to form what was formerly NYCWell, 988.
1:52:42
So all calls that come into 911 do receive an emergency response from either NYPD and or EMS.
