How To De-Escalate A Mental Health Emergency Without Calling The Police (Huff Post)

Every time Asante Haughton leaves his home, he sees someone in distress. For the Jamaican-born mental health advocate, encountering a person experiencing homelessness going through a bad mental health episode in public happens often in his Toronto neighbourhood. What’s also common, Haughton said, is seeing them become victims when police get involved.

“People get tackled to the ground, hogtied, choked out and beat up because someone called the police and they escalated the situation,” he told HuffPost Canada. He’s also disappointed with how police have intervened in his own mental health struggles and those of his loved ones. “For me, it never seemed like they were actually helpful.”