When someone is experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, the response has often followed a familiar path: a 911 call, a police response and, ultimately, a trip to the emergency room. Leaders in Erie County have been working to improve that response.
The Crisis to Care Collaborative has been working since 2024 to identify better ways to get the right type of care to people when they need it most. The group’s latest progress report comes out later this week.
The initiative, which is led and funded by the Patrick P. Lee Foundation, collected data from 10 government, law enforcement and health care organizations to examine how the county responds to behavioral health emergencies. Organizers say dozens of additional groups and community members also participated in the overall process…