PHOENIX — For the last year, we’ve all been inundated with talk of the pandemic.
But there is a health crisis in this country that has been around for much longer, one we don’t talk about: Mental illness.
And while millions of Americans will get the help they need, there are countless others who won’t. People who fall through the cracks and wind up on the streets or in jail.
In 44 states, jails and prisons hold more mentally ill people than the largest psychiatric hospital in the state.
And every day, in every city people will find themselves in crisis. They can be a danger either to themselves or others.
In Phoenix, there is a special squad of highly trained, compassionate and patient officers who respond to those cases.
They are called the Crisis Response Team.
It is dangerous, unpredictable police work, but those on the squad seem to love what they do.
We were allowed to get an inside look at how they respond when someone is in crisis.