November 2021 Community Meeting Notes – Greater Remington Improvement Association

Board Members Present: Phong, Emma, Aaron, Pete, Corey, Candace

Staff member Present: Amanda

Total Attendees: ~34

Start: 7:10pm

End: 8:32pm

Community Announcements

Made in Baltimore Shop is now open at the old Howard Bank space at Remington Row

Agenda

Presentations of New and Existing State & Local Behavioral Health Crisis Response Services (45 minutes)
- Behavioral Health System Baltimore – Adrienne Breidenstine, Vice President, Policy & Communications
  - Performs high level advocacy for behavioral services
    - Provides grants and contracts to services not covered by insurance or normal healthcare
  - Behavioral health covers emotional, mental and substance abuse issues.
  - Many people who are covered by the systems supported by BHSB are not covered by health insurance
  - Here2Help Hotline is available to anyone at 410-433-5175
    - Available 24/7 for crisis services, connections to programs, screenings and scheduling appointments.
    - Conducts follow ups and can deploy mobile crisis teams.
    - A new national phone number will soon be available at 988.
  - Maryland Crisis Stabilization Center at 2700 Raynor Ave, Baltimore, MD 21216
    - Walk-ins accepted
    - Sobering services
    - Access to a bed, warm meal, shower and laundry
    - Peer Specialists
    - Medical evaluations and treatments
    - Transportation home
  - Behavioral health services in schools
    - Provide counselling to children and youth
    - Consultations for parents and teachers
    - Family support
  - Caregiver Support
    - NAMI Metro: www.namibaltimore.org
      - Support Groups (Family, Peer Led)
      - Family Education & Trainings
      - “In Our Own Voice”
        Opportunity to present to a community what it’s like to live with mental illness
    - Maryland Coalition of Families: www.mdcoalition.org
      - Family peer support
  - Self care promotion
  - Q&A:
    - Will the slide deck be available?
      - Yes, we will post the link as soon as it’s available.
    - Can you call this hotline if you are with someone who is in crisis and you don’t know what to do?
      - You can call the Here2Help hotline for these situations, but they will be asked to speak on the phone.
      - Emergencies and third party calls should still be directed to 911, the city is working on making the response to behavioral health crises more consistent and well trained.
    - What are the options to guide troubled youth towards these services?
      - Start by creating a good relationship with them, check in with them
      - Talk to them about the services available
      - Age of consent to receive help from these services without parental consent is 12
- Mayor’s Office, 911 Diversion Call Pilot Program and Behavioral Health Gap Analysis Implementation Plan – Alexandra Smith, Policy Advisor, Mayor’s Office Public Safety
  - https://mayor.baltimorecity.gov/behavioral-health-and-consent-decree
  - Behavioral health gap analysis
    - City agreed to conduct an assessment, identify gaps in behavioral health, recommend solutions and assist with implementation of recommendations
      - Analyzed a sample of police interactions
      - Published in 2019
    - Priority Recommendations
      - Crisis Services
        Implement high level traffic control for access and care
        Increase wraparound services of ongoing community care
      - Law Enforcement
      - Data Services
    - CPIC
      - Working group of individuals and organizations representing a wide range of disciplines
      - Develop a system of care that de-escalates and diverts people away from criminal justice
    - Implementation Plan
      - 9-1-1 Diversion and Mobile Crisis
      - Crisis Services and System Integration
      - Peer Supports
      - Social Determinants of Health
      - Timeline
        25 pages of public comments
        City will review input and publish a second draft for public comment
        Final plan expected to be published in the winter
  - 9-1-1 Diversion Pilot Program
    - Slide deck
    - Launched June 16th
    - Focused on diverting suicidal ideation
    - Central mission is to match people with the most appropriate and available resource.
    - 759 total incidents (eligible or attempted diversions)
      - 103 resolved by BCDI alone, connected to the Here2Help hotline
      - 311 co-resolved with other services like EMS
    - Some of these calls are complex, such as a mix of both mental and physical issues.
    - Q&A
      - I recently made a call to 911 to get an incident handled with BCDI, but police were required to be dispatched?
        Police can also have crisis training, but it’s understandable
      - Why are 2nd or 3rd party callers excluded from diversions, will they be included in the future?
        Some of this is due to limited resources.
      - What type of work is being done to organize immigrant communities?
        Office of immigrant affairs does a lot of organizing with these communities: https://mima.baltimorecity.gov/
        Outreach to these communities is a part of the consent decree
      - Is there a plan for sustained funding for crisis response?
        Theres going to be an ARPA funding expansion plan in 2023
      - How can we stay informed about when these changes will expand?
        Follow the website
        Send an email to alexandra.smith@baltimorecity.gov
        Hoping to expand the pilot in 2022 and 2023
        Expand diversion beyond just behavioral health
Presentation of JHU’s Behavioral Health Crisis Support Team (20 minutes)
- Kevin Shollenberger, Vice Provost of Student Health and Well-Being
  - Johns Hopkins Public Safety officers are usually the first and only responders to behavioral health emergencies involving the JHU community
  - 2018 report determined that a trained clinician would be a more effective intervention
  - 1/3rd of our dispatch calls were for community members rather than student
- Dr. Ronald Means, Psychiatrist and Project Consultant
  - Co-responder model to crisis response on and around campus
    - Student staff and faculty are managed by HBCST clinicians
    - Community members are referred to BCRI
  - Gradually increase to 24/7 coverage with in-person response
  - Partnership with community provider for optimal care of community members
  - Orientation training includes implicit bias, LGBTQIA+ training, trauma victim services, NAMI
  - Pilot has involved over 250 people representing more than 50 organizations in our community
    - Also involved individual meetings with various city services
  - Questions can be directed to bhresponse@jhu.edu
  - Q&A
    - What is the difference between a clinician and a social worker?
      - Clinician covers social workers as well as psychologists and other mental health workers.
    - Would BCRI be called to respond to community members?
      - Yes, on referral
    - What’s the timeline for the expansion to the east campus and other campuses around the city?
      - This program should not conflict with any city provided services, the goal would be to expand this pilot out around 2022.
      - Decided on the homewood campus first due to the majority of our students being located here.
      - Working closely with the mayor’s office and city departments as well as BCRI
    - What is the jurisdiction/authority for incidents off-campus in neighboring communities and response policy vis-a-vis city police/crisis response providers?
      - This pilot is not a 9-1-1 diversion program
      - Jurisdiction includes the areas surrounding the homewood campus down to 27th St.
      - Our focus is to provide a model for the city to use to improve their response
Treasurer Update
- Received 2 grants, one to support our Community Kitchen Initiative, and another for our general efforts in the community.