В Сан-Франциско отменили участие психологов-посредников в работе службы 911

San Francisco fire commissioners are facing backlash over a recent decision to remove peer counselors from 911 calls. “We now have 164 hours of community paramedic training that our members all go through, which allow us to feel really comfortable with being able to handle these calls without the peer navigators,” San Francisco Fire Department Chief Dean Crispin said. Watch NBC Bay Area News free wherever you are During Wednesday’s Fire Commission meeting, the chief and the commission heard the impassioned response from program supervisors, outside experts and the peer counselors who had been going out on calls as part of the SCRT. Each of them touted the unique experience they have when responding to people in crisis; some of them explained they were once on the other side of those calls, and being on the team was part of a calling to help others. Ultimately, they pleaded with the commission and the chief not to end this collaboration. All of the commissioners seemed surprised by the action and asked for more time to examine the chief’s decision. “Not that we can change it, but at least for the record, for the commission to vote on this situation removing the peer counselors. Just to say we had a voice in this,” SF Fire Commissioner Armie Morgan said. Local The Street Crisis Response teams were launched five years ago. The idea was not to have armed police officers get called out to certain situation; instead, a specialized team of fire paramedics and peer counselors could de-escalate those situations and help connect people to services or medical attention. The peer counselors are funded by the city Department of Public Health through a bond measure, and had been funded through the end of August. Now that the collaboration is suddenly ending, counselors are trying to figure out what to do next. “Some of us are being transferred to different departments, different teams. Like there's a street team," Peer Support Specialist Chantel Hernandez-Wood said. But not everyone has found a position to transfer to yet. Following the meeting, Chief Crispin said he appreciated everyone's dedication and the commissioners responses but did not change his decision to end the collaboration with peer counselors. The change will go into effect on Friday.