As cities across the country try to ensure that a 911 call summons the right kind of help — including for those with mental health and substance use issues — a Harris School of Public Policy and Health Lab event explored ways to “reimagine and improve crisis response.”
“First-Response for Chicagoans Experiencing Addiction and Mental Health Crises,” which took place on July 27, was the second of three Summer of Social Impact signature events at Harris Public Policy. The 75-minute event included a fireside chat, featuring Katherine Baicker, dean and Emmett Dedmon Professor at Harris, and Health Lab Faculty co-Director Harold Pollack.
To kick off the event, Baicker and Pollack spoke about the Health Lab’s mission and its first-response work in Chicago and throughout the nation – including the new TRANSFORM911, an initiative that will convene a diverse set of stakeholders in search of solutions. They touched on ways predictive analytics and research can help improve first-response outcomes.
