Read on Twitter
We were horrified to see that someone experiencing a crisis was treated so violently by police. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are programs in place to appropriately respond to people when they need the community’s help. https://bit.ly/35G3S2E
People experiencing an acute mental health episode need a health response. The PACER model – a mobile health response comprised of a mental health clinician & police member - has been shown to work by de-escalating incidents and expediting access to appropriate mental health care
PACER also provides an opportunity for underlying legal issues to be addressed. People with mental illness are vulnerable to the experience of legal problems, and are over-represented in the criminal justice system, often as a result of negative interactions with police.
In turn, these legal problems exacerbate existing mental ill-health, creating a vicious cycle. To break this chain, we’ve been piloting a @LSB_Victoria funded project to deliver free legal help to people who come in contact with PACER.
Not only will it improve the wellbeing of people experiencing mental ill-health, but result in benefits for co-responders and lessen demands upon them and the health and justice systems.
A recent evaluation showed that despite its proven success, PACER currently only reaches 6% of mental health calls from police. We call on @DanielAndrewsMP to properly resource the program, & to incorporate lawyers within the model so people can get the help they need. #springst
You can read more about our work to improve legal and wellbeing outcomes for people experiencing mental ill-health in our Submission to the Royal Commission into Mental Health: https://bit.ly/3knXilz . #VicPolWatch #auslaw #auslawwatch
