MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – As Mental Health Awareness Month continues, community leaders are emphasizing the importance of knowing where to turn during a mental health crisis. Dr. Cindy Gipson with AltaPointe Health and Sergeant Nate McCarty with the Mobile Police Department joined Studio10 to highlight the critical role partnerships play in helping people get care quickly and safely.
For years, AltaPointe Health and the Mobile Police Department have worked together to improve how mental health emergencies are handled across the community. The collaboration focuses on crisis response, officer training, and connecting individuals to lifesaving behavioral health services. The partnership was created in response to major changes in the mental health system nationwide.
“Over the years, as state psychiatric hospitals across the country have closed and the number of inpatient psychiatric beds has significantly decreased, law enforcement officers have increasingly become the first responders to mental health crises,” Dr. Gipson explained. “When people are scared or someone they love is in crisis, they call 911.”
Recognizing the growing need, AltaPointe and MPD leaders developed a coordinated approach that brings behavioral health professionals and law enforcement together. The partnership includes specialized officer training, co-response initiatives, telehealth access through iPads that connect officers directly to clinicians 24 hours a day, and a dedicated Behavioral Health Crisis Center individuals can receive immediate stabilization and treatment.
Sgt. McCarty said the partnership has transformed the way officers respond to mental health calls. The department now includes mental health education and verbal de-escalation techniques in officer training, along with a specialized 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, program for officers who frequently respond to behavioral health emergencies.
“This training helps our officers slow situations down, build rapport, and connect people to treatment whenever possible,” Sgt. McCarty explained.
Both leaders pointed to a phrase often used in crisis care: “someone to call, someone to respond, and somewhere to go.”
Today, individuals experiencing a mental health crisis — or family members seeking help — can call or text 988 for immediate support. Mobile Crisis Response Teams can respond directly in the community, and individuals needing additional stabilization can be transported to AltaPointe’s Behavioral Health Crisis Center for treatment and support at 2401 Gordon Smith Drive.
From the law enforcement perspective, Sgt. McCarty said the partnership gives officers more options and helps divert individuals away from jail and toward treatment.
“This partnership has diverted thousands of individuals into the lifesaving treatment and support they need, while also improving safety for everyone involved,” he said.
Mental health leaders want the community to remember that help is always available and no one has to face a crisis alone. Anyone experiencing a mental health emergency can call or text 988 for immediate support or contact AltaPointe Health at 251-450-2211. You can learn more at AltaPointe.org.
Copyright 2026 WALA. All rights reserved.