Forum looks at interactions between mentally ill and public safety

July 28--GREENSBORO -- No one can survive mental illness alone.

That was the message Jack Register, director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of North Carolina, had Wednesday night for about 100 people who attended a forum on mental health at the Greensboro Historical Museum.

The discussion was the third in the Mental Health Awareness Series organized by the city's Human Relations Department and comes at a time when the issue is at the forefront of the nation after police shootings of people with mental illness.

According to Register, Guilford County's first responders lead the state in how they handle mental health issues.

"I see the rest of the state, which hasn't gone as far as Guilford County has," Register said.

Greensboro police receive training for working with mentally ill during a crisis.

Sheriff's deputies, dispatchers and firefighters receive what's called Crisis Intervention Team training. That training, based on a system developed in Memphis, is a program that partners law enforcement agencies with advocacy groups and health care providers to offer interventions before a crisis can escalate.

Panelists said Wednesday that the actions of first responders when they arrive at a scene where a person may be suffering a mental health crisis often depends on information they receive beforehand.

Due to the stigma associated with mental illness, people often omit that information to dispatchers when asking for help.

"We can't say this enough: The information you provide to the first responder is essential," said Greensboro police Capt. Nathaniel Davis III, one of the panelists. "There are a number of different things that we as first responders can adjust, but we must have that information."

Register's mother suffered from mental illness, he said. To help his father prepare to relay information to dispatchers, he wrote a script for him to read when he called for help.

"If we can't tell folks what's going on, the people who respond can't get the services they need," Register said.

Contact Joe Gamm at (336) 373-7090, and follow @joegammNR on Twitter.

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