Suffolk County 911 call center will get social workers for mental health response

Ryan McDonald at 14 arrived home in Rocky Point to find his father suffering from a fatal overdose and called 911.

The resulting trauma brought on panic attacks and several hospital visits.

"I didn't know how to respond," McDonald, now 21, said Tuesday, after speaking at a Suffolk County news conference. "I was very confused, scared and nervous. Having social workers on a 911 call would have made such a difference."

Social workers will be embedded at Suffolk County’s 911 call center to help operators with mental health-related calls for the first time, County Executive Edward P. Romaine announced Tuesday. 

In addition, Stony Brook University graduate students will assist with non-emergency calls alongside 311 operators as part of a larger mental health initiative that aims to get people services while decreasing police involvement in cases where it may not be necessary.

Romaine said the new plan "will make policing more effective, protect our police men and women that serve and ... help people who have some kind of difficulty in life."

Over the years on Long Island, some encounters between law enforcement and people having mental health crises have led to serious or fatal civilian and police injuries.

Officials hope including social workers as part of the process early on will reduce the chance of dangerous encounters. It can also free up officers if the situation does not warrant police intervention.

"Sometimes confrontation doesn't always work, and sometimes de-escalating the situation keeps everyone safe and protects people that may be having a bad day," Romaine said during a news conference at the county executive’s office in Hauppauge.

Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said one of the "most complicated and nuanced calls" a police officer responds to is one that involves behavioral health.

Under the new plan, if someone calls 911 in a mental health crisis, a social worker from the Family Service League will take over the call and evaluate the situation. While they won’t immediately be at the call center 24 hours a day, Catalina said they hope to ramp up their hours in the future. The social workers are currently undergoing training with the police department, which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

There are no current plans to send social workers out with police to scenes but Catalina said officers can reach behavioral health specialists from the field if needed.

The county also unveiled a user-friendly directory of behavioral health services on its website as a resource for people looking for assistance.

"The system’s very confusing and it dissuades people from trying to get the help they need," said Aiden Merlos, one of the Stony Brook University graduate students working with 311 operators. "We are trying to fix that. ... A lot of people post about their problems on TikTok because they don’t have people to go to."

Merlos said callers in an immediate crisis will be evaluated and sent to the appropriate person for help.

Rebecca Bonanno, a Huntington-based licensed clinical social worker and member of the advocacy group Long Island United to Transform Policing and Community Safety, said in an interview, "Any initiative that helps connect people in crisis and reduces the risk of dangerous and traumatic confrontations is positive." 

But she said even better would be a system primarily based in "health workers responding to these health crises." She said trained "mental health peers" who've had their own mental health experience could help de-escalate situations.

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.