SJC Exchange Library

Experts from the City of Houston Police Department, the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office discuss their community’s historic and current systems for responding to calls for help involving people with mental health issues.  The speakers identified strengths and challenges of their crisis response systems, plans for future changes, and how what Houston and Harris County have done can be models for other communities.

Panelists:

• Sergeant Rebecca Skillern, Houston Police Department
• Chiara Jaranilla, Crisis Call Diversion Program Manager, Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD
• Jami Mack, Director, Rapid Response and Crisis Call Diversion, Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD
• Sergeant Rico Gomez, Harris County Sheriff’s Office
• Alex Furtado, HART Project Manager, Harris County Sheriff’s Office
• Monica Porter Gilbert, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (moderator)

Resources:

• Houston Police Department // Mental Health Division
• The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD
• Harris County Sheriff's Office // Neighborhood Policing Division
• Harris County Public Health // Community Health and Violence Prevention Services
• Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law