The province’s official opposition are renewing their calls for province-wide mental health crisis teams after seven lives were lost from intimate partner violence over the past few months.
The NDP says in a media release, they would be a new type of civilian-first responder team offering specialized care and support to people who need it.
Leader Claudia Chender says this is something that police and the public have been asking for.
“Law enforcement is often not the most appropriate, efficient or useful first interaction for people experiencing crisis. Having another arm of first responders lets police focus on maintaining public safety, while mental health experts can focus on getting people the care and resources they need.”
The NDP say emergency mental health responders can help with prevention, by intervening with perpetrators, while providing survivors with immediate support and care.
In addition to that, instead of relying on police alone, the party says emergency mental health responders would encourage those at risk of deadly violence to connect with resources that could possibly save their life.
“We know that many survivors of gender-based violence may be hesitant to ask for help because they’re worried about what will happen when dealing with the criminal justice system,” says NSNDP Justice Critic Lina Hamid.
The party says the province should model the program off of a similar one in Alberta that pairs mental health specialists with police officers when responding to emergency mental health calls.
