San Mateo Hosts Panel On Police Dept.'s Mental Health Initiative

SAN MATEO, CA — The city of San Mateo hosted a panel discussion Wednesday on a pilot program intended to aid in de-escalating 911 calls and provide appropriate and compassionate care for non-violent individuals.

The panel featured Briana Fair, the mental health clinician hired by the San Mateo Police Department for the initiative.

Also speaking were representatives from the San Mateo Police Department, San Mateo County Health, San Mateo County, StarVista and LifeMoves.

Related: Meet San Mateo Police Department's New Mental Health Clinician

Redwood City, Daly City and South San Francisco are also participating in the program and have hired their own mental health clinicians. The pilot program is set for two years and will cost approximately $1.5 million. Each of the four cities will contribute $408,388 and the county will provide $468,388 for each of the two years under a cost-sharing agreement.

"It's really important to have mental health clinicians in every space they can be to help address it appropriately," Fair told Patch in an interview last year. "I think we're asking a lot of people who are not in the mental health field to take on things that do require a professional, and I think that having this role is going to change that."

View the panel discussion here: