GLENVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Glenville Police are seeking assistance from elected officials since the department is seeing more calls about people who pose a threat to themselves or to others. Those individuals are now taken to local emergency rooms for evaluation. Some are moved to a local critical care center for long-term care. But there need to be more critical care centers available, according to Chief Stephen Janik.
“The overcrowding of our local emergency room or crisis centers, which is putting a strain on the crisis centers,” Chief Janik said.
Hospitals are also experiencing staff shortages across the capital district. The New York Civil Liberties Union is hoping for legislation to be passed. More specifically, ‘Daniel’s Law,’ named after Daniel Prude, who was killed after being physically restrained during a mental health emergency in Rochester. Brandon Holmes is with the New York Civil Liberties Union, and they are among those who support the bill.
“It’s been scientifically proven that when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, or any other crisis, that detection or incarceration with a kind of hyper-militaristic response to a person in crisis- only exacerbates the response,” Holmes said.
The bill includes having trained mental health professionals instead of armed police officers. Glenville police already have a partnership with Northern Rivers in Albany. They don’t help individuals with severe issues…“but who have another behavioral issue that is probably more easily tended to by someone in social work.”
Brandon Holmes believes part of the solution is better pay and benefits for healthcare workers to drum up more interest.
“We would be able to show that you can make a living and you can support a family by doing these roles that people may think are under-appreciated or undervalued,” he said.
Opponents of the bill are worried about having responders without the presence of officers. But agree that there needs to be more mental health care training.