Annette Amistadi may be a bit green when it comes to emergency response. But the veteran social worker knows what to do when she sees someone in a mental health crisis. When a 911 call took her to a Shaker Heights home in January, she says “the training kicked in.” Police and paramedics were already on the scene “doing their best, 100 percent,” for a young woman having suicidal thoughts, Amistadi says. But first responders aren’t mental health experts, and uniforms can be intimidating. “She was sitting at the kitchen table crying,” says Amistadi. “I started talking to her and I was able to help with the de-escalation.” Soon she was helping the woman decide what to pack for a trip to the hospital. A week later Amistadi checked in to see how the woman was doing and to make sure she was keeping her appointments. “That was a huge success, being able to see that she had what she needed,” says Amistadi, who will check in again. And if the woman needs to talk sooner, “she has my number.” Amistadi is a licensed independent social worker for Recovery Resources, part of the MetroHealth System. She is helping launch Shaker’s new Mental Health Response Team, a year-long pilot program that seeks to embed a mental health professional with Shaker’s police and fire departments 40 hours a week. With a 2022 budget of $100,000 and MetroHealth as its partner, Shaker is hoping the pilot will show the way to better address the hundreds of mental health-related calls the City receives each year. Annette Amistadi is helping launch Shaker’s new Mental Health Response Team. 54 SUMMER 2022 | WWW.SHAKER.LIFE
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