Project Respond: Effective Response to the Homeless Mentally Ill (From Police and the Homeless: Creating a Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Social Service Agencies in the Development of Effective Policies and Programs, P 131-149, 1997, Martin L. Forst, ed. - See NCJ-167769)

• NCJ Number: 167777
• Author(s): J Larson; S Beattie
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 19 pages
• Sale Source: Charles C. Thomas
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter discusses mental health among homeless persons, describes a Portland, Oregon, mobile crisis and outreach program, and offers suggestions to assist in developing programs to meet the needs of the homeless mentally ill.

Abstract

Project Respond is a crisis response and street outreach program that uses a staff of masters level mental health professionals and medical support personnel to provide mobile community mental health services within the urban core of Portland, Oregon. Crisis response is the team's first priority, but they are broadly empowered to intervene in a variety of situations and have the authority to initiate an immediate petition for civil commitment and cause an individual to be involuntarily transported to a hospital for further evaluation. If a situation involves a weapon or assaultive behavior, the team notifies the police, and the police are the primary responders. When not engaged in a crisis call, the team is a visible presence on the streets as they build trust with the disenfranchised, often homeless, mentally ill population and assist them in accessing housing, financial support and ongoing mental health services. The Project Respond team frequently works with other service providers, offers consultations and training to businesses and concerned groups, and serves on specialized task forces focused on resolving a community problem. Notes