orange county florida – This is the first of its kind in Central Florida. 911 dispatchers can now assist when someone in a mental health crisis calls for help.
ZIP code 3285, part of what the Orange County Sheriff’s Office calls “Sector 2” in the northeast corner, has more people with mental health concerns than anywhere else in the county. I’ll call you.
Generally, the response to all 911 calls is the same. Police, fire, medical, but not in Orange County.
Jennifer Falco is a clinician at the county’s first 911 communications center. That’s a big deal.
“Yes, it’s a big deal for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office,” Falco said.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Falco is a certified mental health counselor and listens to and listens to the growing number of 911 callers struggling with mental health issues.
“What I do here is I work with people who are taking calls, and if they think someone with mental health expertise would be a better fit, they can call me. They transfer your calls,” Falco tells the 911 caller.
When a call comes into the 911 command center, dispatchers respond and, if they determine there is a mental health issue but not an emergency, they will forward the call to Falco.
Falco said most callers who called her didn’t expect to connect with a mental health professional. And she might be the first person they’ve talked to in a while or ever.
Falco said it was an honor.
“Because people are sharing things with me that they might not have otherwise been able to share with other people,” Falco said. “And they’re becoming vulnerable. They talk to me when they’re in crisis. And it’s never fun talking to people about that. I’m in a very unique position. . I can grab them in this moment when they’re going through this crisis.”
When Falco talks to a caller, he has three options. She can deploy the Behavioral Response Unit, a deputy/clinician, or a joint response team, which was first introduced to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in 2021.
She can refer callers to mental health resources across the county that she is familiar with.
Or, Falco said, you could just listen.
“That happens when the person isn’t ready to access the resources yet,” Falco says.
In her first month at the communications center, Falco spoke with 31 people who called 911 for help.
“I feel 100% that we are seeing results,” Falco said. “I feel like I’m really helping people here.”
For most of the 31 911 calls, Falco did not dispatch agents.
Jason Goberg, commander of the Sergeant Action Response Unit and responsible for integrating Falco into the communications center over the past year, said everyone benefits when lieutenants no longer have to respond to 911 calls. Ta.
“Doing so will conserve resources and allow our deputies to respond to more ongoing calls for service,” Goberg said. “This also allows Orange County residents to know that we are focused on the ongoing concerns voiced by our residents.”
Also, allaying mental health concerns over the phone is one less in-person encounter that could potentially go wrong.
“Certainly, the number of potential violent encounters with Orange County residents would certainly increase if we had the opportunity to have a phone conversation with someone who may be in crisis or just needs resources that day. It’s going to go down,” Goberg said.
Currently, Falco is only active during the day. There will be no clinician on duty during the night, and the dispatcher will dispatch a substitute as usual. The sheriff’s office hopes to hire a second or even third clinician so that every shift can be covered by a mental health professional.
Get today’s headlines in minutes your florida daily:
WKMG ClickOrlando Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
