2020 will go down in history for many things, including the significant push for a diversion of mental health related calls from law enforcement to a different model. The CAHOOTS program, initiated in Eugene, Oregon, has captured the imagination of many throughout the country who are looking for a tested approach which shifts the burden to a peer-led team.
CAHOOTS stands for Crisis Assistance Helping out on the Streets and was started in Eugene, Oregon in 1989. It originated as a collaboration between a local nonprofit clinic and the city and has grown into a 24/7 service. Multiple vans serve the city and offer an alternative to the traditional reliance upon first responders of police or paramedics which can often be a traumatic experience for all involved.
Ben Adam Climer, who started his career working in homeless outreach in Los Angeles, moved to Oregon in 2014 and worked on the CAHOOTS team for five years, first as a crisis worker and then as a trained Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
Climer is now consulting with a number of local jurisdictions who are looking to shift crisis calls away from the traditional law enforcement response to specialized teams with clinical workers, trained crisis workers and/or peer responders. Climer walks us through how CAHOOTS is dispatched in Oregon and describes the types of calls they are uniquely equipped to handle. He also shares data about the positive outcomes, both financial and human in scale. Most noteworthy is the importance of de-escalating situations by not resorting to forceful interventions and avoiding costly hospital and jail interventions.
To contact Ben-Adam Climer
Ben Adam Climer | LinkedIn
Articles:
CAHOOTS: A Model for Prehospital Mental Health Crisis Intervention (psychiatrictimes.com)
Huntington Beach latest to create non-police team to handle mental health, homeless issues – Orange County Register (ocregister.com)
You Tube:
(153) Los Angeles CAHOOTS Presentation - YouTube