US Politics
Reimagining Public Safety: How Compassionate Crisis Response Saves Lives While Rural Tragodies Expose Our Failures
San Mateo's co-responder mental health program successfully reduced involuntary holds by 17% and saved cities $800,000 annually by pairing clinicians with police officers on emergency calls, while rural California faces a devastating firearm suicide crisis among older men with limited access to care. This innovative approach represents the kind of compassionate, practical governance that strengthens communities while protecting individual dignity, while the rural suicide tragedy exposes our collective failure to provide basic healthcare and support to our most vulnerable citizens.
