Cleveland EMS will send social workers not police to some mental health calls

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Non-violent mental health 911 calls will get handled differently starting in the middle of 2027 with the Community Response Crisis Bureau handling them.

“We will go out in the moment to people who are having manic episodes, psychotic episodes, suicidal ideations, as long as the calls are non-violent.” explained Colleen Malavé, Cleveland’s new Deputy Commissioner of Community Crisis Response. “If there are weapons involved, police would be sent out.”

Malavé says social workers should be able to resolve some issues over the phone. Using social workers on these calls will free up police to handle other situations, leaving mental health issues to health professionals.

“They’ve been trained to de-escalate situations, to provide trauma informed support to people who are having crises so we want to respond,” said Malavé.

Malavé expects to hire fifteen social workers initially.

This reform started with the passage of Tanisha’s Law this February in Cleveland City Council, which mandates the shifting of many nonviolent mental and behavior health calls to trained civilian crisis team.

The law is named for Tanisha Anderson, who died in 2014 after police restrained her during a mental health crisis.

“This program absolutely makes Cleveland a better, safer, and more compassionate place for people that are vulnerable and have mental health crises.,” Malavé concluded.

The city has not released how much money the program will cost but Cleveland City Council will vote on a budget in the beginning of 2027.