The city will launch its first non-police emergency response option on Feb. 13. Responders Engaged and Committed to Help, or REACH, partners a paramedic and mental health clinician to respond to 911 calls.Â
The program is a partnership between the Nashville Fire Department’s EMS Division and Mental Health Cooperative. The hours will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, according to a press release. Â
“As Nashville continues to grow, so does the need for additional mental health resources, especially in crisis situations,” says Pam Womack, CEO of Mental Health Cooperative. “We are confident that this pilot program will help those suffering from mental distress, and we look forward to the program’s success as we continue to serve our community.”Â
The pilot program will staff two clinicians and two paramedics, with each team assigned to an SUV.
The Scene was among the first to report on the program, running a cover story on REACH in November. The program is meant to free up ambulances and address low-acuity crisis calls, officials involved in the program told the Scene. REACH responders will use an SUV and can transport people to community resource centers including places like the Mental Health Coop, Centerstone, Park Center, Neighborhood Health or even the caller’s own home. REACH is modeled after a Denver program called STAR (Support Team Assisted Response).Â
In late January, Metro Nashville Police Officer Dylan Ramos killed a man whom a 911 caller had emphasized might be suffering from mental illness.
Metro Council voted in September to expand Partners in Care, to include four of the city’s eight precincts. The city launched the program, which pairs police and mental health clinicians to respond to high-acuity mental health-related calls, in June 2021. Partners in Care sees about 5 percent of its cases result in use of force and 5 percent taken to jail. Â
The REACH vehicle can be dispatched by emergency communications staff if the call is low-acuity and mental-health-related. Partners in Care is another option outside of traditional emergency response.
Partners in Care was not called during a Nov. 12 shooting involving an unhoused man who experienced mental illness because the event occurred outside operating hours. At that time, advocates called for a non-police response like REACH (far from the first time).
