If the situation has escalated to the point where a life-safety threat exists for the person in distress or for people around them, it rises to a crisis-level intervention.
Talking to dispatchers
When calling emergency services, introduce yourself and a description of the person having a crisis, including their name, their age and their current location.
“The more information, the better,” Wasserman said. More information allows dispatchers with 911 or 988 to ensure the most appropriate response occurs.
For example, if you consider the person a threat, explain why. Is this person walking around with a baseball bat, swinging it at people, and yelling at them? Or is this person sitting on a park bench and seems disoriented?
Depending on the information provided, dispatchers might send in law enforcement, or they may send a fire rescue team or an EMS.
While on the phone, you can mention that you believe the situation involves a mental health crisis. That can trigger more questions from the dispatchers and give more information to the responding officers.
You might also mention your goal: for them to be helped, not arrested or harmed.
Real Life of an MSW 