Legislation addressing mental health emergencies is headed to the governor’s desk. A new nationwide suicide prevention hotline number…9-8-8 will be operational next summer. A bill passed by lawmakers requires communities to coordinate the new number with their 9-1-1 systems, so that calls are directed appropriately and people get the help they need. Representative Kelly Cassidy of Chicago says it was prompted in part by the death of a 15 year old Calumet City teen.
“Stephen Edward Watts was a young man with autism whose parents often wondered and worried and feared that when they would need to call for help for him that he could be in danger and their worst nightmares came true in 2012.”
His family had called 9-1-1 and police shot Watts after they say he threatened them with a knife. Cassidy says the change will make sure a mental health emergency will get a mental health response.
***Report Courtesy of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services***
