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.
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