STEP 1

STEP 2

If there is no suicide or serious medical condition, and if your mentally ill loved one does not need 911 help, but they can be safely transported by you in your car to a crisis stabilization unit, then first phone one of these units: 

STEP 3

• If you need assistance in helping your loved one to be delivered to one of the crisis center (listed above) to get the help they deserve, phone 911.

• Specifically tell the 911 operator this: "I am requesting the aid of a “C.I.T.” officer that can help my family member who has been diagnosed with a severe mental illness, and this loved one is currently endangering himself and others."
• The operator will then send specially trained law enforcement officers, if available, that are understanding, patient, and trained in dealing with mental illness crises. They are members of the “Crisis Intervention Team”, or “C.I.T.” for short.  You can ask the 911 operator to tell the officers to arrive at your house without lights or sirens.
  
  
• If this is a repeat crisis with a known history of a severe mental illness, it is essential that you tell the officers this fact when they arrive. You can help your loved one get the help they need immediately by using an important tool of involuntary examination and treatment called the "Baker Act". The Florida Baker Act law permits crisis center mental health care providers to evaluate and treat your loved one during a 72 hour period, if the following two criteria are met for someone believed to be experiencing harmful effects from a severe mental illness: (1) the person's condition and behavior puts themselves or others in danger, and (2) the person is unable to understand or determine their own need for treatment.  In your house, ask the law enforcement officers to do a "Baker Act"on the spot based on these two criteria, before they drive your loved one to a crisis center.  Many uninformed law officers are not aware that the Baker Act law specifically states that the responding officer must take such a person to a crisis center if the above criteria are met.  The law also states that it is not necessary for the officer to directly witness these criteria himself, but that a responsible report of the behavior is enough to do the Baker Act on the spot in the house.  Examples of a responsible report include papers documenting a psychiatrist's diagnosis of a psychotic condition, and evidence from family members that the loved is potentially harmful to himself or others because they have refused or stopped taking otherwise effective anti-psychotic medication.  If the officers believe that a crisis center mental health professional is better suited to make the initial evaluation, the officers must then transport the loved one to a crisis center.  There are two crisis centers that receive Baker Acted persons in the Gainesville area, Vista and Meridian. Appropriately trained officers will already know enough to NOT go to a hospital emergency room (such as Shands or North Florida Regional), but instead to go there ONLY for a medical conditions (like profuse bleeding). Trained officers will know that a crisis center is the only place to transport the loved one.
  
  
• It is a normal reaction for any family member to feel uneasy about seeing a law enforcement officer in your house. But you don't need to worry about it because they are simply there to help out under friendly conditions, and they are trained to help you understand this. They have been instructed to help you and guide you through the rest of the steps in admitting your loved one to one of the crisis centers.

STEP 4

Inform yourself about what to do next.