I'm writing to voice my support of the MACRO program being routed through 911. The point of MACRO as I understand it is to address crisis situations that do not require police to be addressed appropriately (with an EMT + trained counselor team). Someone calling in help for a mental health emergency (a family member or bystander) is not likely be aware of an alternate number -- they're going to call 911. Using any other number except 911 defeats the entire purpose of MACRO and guarantees underutilization.
I'm writing to voice my support of the MACRO program being routed through 911. The point of MACRO as I understand it is to address crisis situations that do not require police to be addressed appropriately (with an EMT + trained counselor team). Someone calling in help for a mental health emergency (a family member or bystander) is not likely be aware of an alternate number -- they're going to call 911. Using any other number except 911 defeats the entire purpose of MACRO and guarantees underutilization.