Tulsa city officials say mental health is “top of mind” this December, and that the city continues to use its community response team to serve people in crisis.
Founded in 2017, the team operates Monday through Friday and includes a Tulsa police officer, a fire department paramedic and a family and children’s services clinician.
In a video released to the media Friday, Tulsa police captain Shellie Seebert said the team directs people in crisis to the appropriate services.
"It gets the person to the right resource. We can divert people out of the criminal justice system," Siebert said in the video. "All of this helps the city of Tulsa. It helps the person in crisis — the family members are given resources that they can call later rather than calling 911, and then it helps free up officers to go to crimes in progress and, you know, serious violent criminal calls."
Residents may visit www.cityoftulsa.org/mhss for more information about the community response team.