A collective of mental health organizations that claim Worcester’s 911 system is discriminatory against people suffering mental health emergencies is trying to settle a lawsuit it filed against the city.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Central Massachusetts, NAMI-Massachusetts and the Parent-Professional Advocacy League, filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city in March in the hopes of changing Worcester’s 911 system.
The lawsuit from the organizations claims that during an emergency involving suicidal thoughts, panic, psychosis or trauma, Worcester’s “default” is to send armed police officers. In comparison, those with physical emergencies, such as a heart attack or other medical crises, are met by EMTs and paramedics trained to handle the situation, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that this treatment is unfair and a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
On June 16, the city and the mental health organizations filed a joint motion saying they have been working towards a settlement of the case.
“During this period, the parties have worked diligently and in good faith to settle this case,” the motion reads. “The parties have made, and continue to make, substantial progress towards a negotiated resolution of this case, but require additional time to continue negotiating outstanding items and terms.”
District Judge Margaret R. Guzman agreed to the extension Monday, telling both parties to provide an update on the settlement by Aug. 22.
Steven Schwartz, one of several lawyers representing the three mental health organizations, said he could not talk about the details of the settlement but said conversations between the plaintiffs and the city have been positive.
“By virtue of the fact that it has been positive … is the very reason we agreed to extend it for another two months,” Schwartz said.
Thomas Matthews, a spokesperson for City Manager Eric D. Batista, said the city is unable to provide comment about the lawsuit.
Schwartz added talks between the city and the organizations were already taking place before the joint motion was filed in June.
Though Schwartz previously told MassLive police officers are not trained to handle mental health emergencies, he also said the lawsuit solely centers around Worcester’s 911 system and not the city’s police department.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit wanted a federal judge to order Worcester to overhaul its 911 system so that mental health emergencies receive a clinical, unarmed response comparable to the care provided during physical health crises. They argue the city must redesign its dispatch policies, train staff and create or reinstate a dedicated mental health crisis team to comply with federal disability law.
It is unclear whether those concessions will be part of a settlement agreement if one is reached.
Worcester does have a crisis intervention program, which is run by UMass Memorial Health Community HealthLink. Workers are not dispatched through the 911 system, but local police departments can request support at any time.
This program differs from a pilot program the city ran for 18 months until the fall of 2024. The pilot program allowed 911 dispatchers to directly contact Community HealthLink’s crisis response team to respond to mental health emergencies alongside police officers.
The future of the crisis intervention program, however, is in flux due to Community HealthLink’s impending closure. The Springfield-based Behavioral Health Network (BHN) has signed a letter of intent to take over the Worcester-based programs from Community HealthLink, which include the crisis intervention program. The state will need to sign off on the agreement before BHN takes over the intervention program.
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