A lawsuit accusing Worcester’s 911 system of being discriminatory has drawn different responses from residents about how emergency mental health crises should be addressed.
The city was sued on Monday by three major mental health groups — the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Central Massachusetts, NAMI-Massachusetts and the Parent-Professional Advocacy League.
The lawsuit from the organizations claims that during an emergency involving suicidal thoughts, panic, psychosis or trauma, Worcester’s “default” is to send armed police officers. All three organizations argue that officers are not trained to manage these types of situations and their presence alone can make the situation worse…