ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — When experiencing a mental health crisis, local law enforcement agencies say you should think twice before dialing 9-1-1. That's because there are other options that may be more suitable.
The Orangeburg Department of Public Safety says it has received 154 mental health related calls since July.
“We can’t say no to coming out. If we get called, we have to go so we’re kind of left picking up pieces of a mental health system that’s been depleted," said Lieutenant Jennifer Haig.
Haig says the department does not have a mental health division. This means calls ranging from public disturbances to paranoid behavior in the hands of patrol officers. This is taking them away from responding to other calls.
The agency reports officers have used 217 manpower hours on these types of calls within the past 90 days.
“A lot of them just need help, they need that evaluation and sometimes when we show up, it just escalates the situation and makes it even worse for the patient," said Haig.
What often happens in these situations is mental health patients will end up wrongfully incarcerated or even hospitalized. That's according to the Orangeburg Area Mental Health Center. To address that, the center is a part of a statewide mobile crisis team that's trained to respond.
“When something goes wrong, everyone knows to call 9-1-1 and so I feel if everyone knows about the services the department of mental health offers 365 days a year, 7 days a week and 24 hours, they’ll be informed about this reduce the amount of calls our local department is receiving," said chief of clinic operations Bryant Williams.
Williams says staff can assess the patient and decide whether they will need to be hospitalized or receive follow up treatment at one of their area centers.
The toll free number is (833) 364-2274.