Navigating Emergency Services

Consider contacting 911 if a young adult is not safe, experiencing a medical emergency, actively suicidal, severely impaired by symptoms such as psychosis, depression, or mania, is missing, unable to care for basic needs, or at immediate risk of harm to themselves or others. Calls made through 911 are often given a higher priority than calls made directly to non-emergency numbers or local services.

If the young adult is in another city or state, you may still call 911. Tell the operator the city and state where the young adult is located, and they may be able to route you to the correct local emergency dispatch center.

Let the dispatcher know this is a mental health crisis. Provide the young adult’s physical description, medication information, and any factors that may worsen or de-escalate the crisis. If additional context is helpful, you may ask responding officers to call you before making contact. You may ask for Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained officers to respond to your call. CIT-trained officers receive additional training in mental health crisis response, although this is not always available.

In some areas, 988 may coordinate with mobile crisis teams, but they do not always send someone in person. 988 services vary widely by region. If the young adult is in immediate danger or is not safe, call 911 instead of 988.

If there is a choice between hospitals, consider choosing one with Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) if available, which may have staff and resources specifically focused on psychiatric emergencies. However, if there is an urgent medical concern or safety issue, the closest ER may be the best choice.

Services will vary, but some offer to evaluate for involuntary hospitalization, de-escalate individuals in crisis, and triage mental health situations to determine if a higher level of response is required. Availability varies by location.

Examples may include documenting concerning behavior and requesting guidance.

They may also perform wellness checks. However, local police vary in their understanding of mental illness and crisis response. If officers who respond aren’t trained in how to handle psychiatric crises, there is a serious risk that their presence may unintentionally escalate instead of de-escalate the situation. So, for wellness checks in particular, you may want to consider other available options first, such as trusted local contacts, dorm staff such as a Resident Advisor on duty, campus police, or a local psychiatric mobile response team.

When the local police have shown professional handling of mental health situations, some families proactively build rapport and share relevant information to reduce the risk of miscommunication or escalation during future emergencies. If the young adult moves to a new area, families with ongoing concerns may want to start that process before the first emergency.