Hahn Proposes Improvements to LA County Suicide Prevention Response

Los Angeles, CA — Tomorrow, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider two proposals by Supervisor Janice Hahn to improve LA County’s response to calls about threats of suicide and mental health crises.

The first motion directs the County to co-sponsor the Miles Hall Lifeline Act – otherwise known as AB 988. This motion is coauthored by Hahn and Supervisor Kathryn Barger. AB 988 begins the process of designating “9-8-8” as the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Hotline Phone Number beginning in 2022.

The second motion takes action now to prevent suicide in LA County. The Didi Hirsch counselors who operate the suicide prevention hotline used in LA County are specifically trained to provide emotional support over the phone to people in suicidal crisis. However, they don’t have the ability to dispatch psychiatric mobile response units. The second motion connects Didi Hirsch’s suicide prevention counselors to the LA County Department of Mental Health Help Line so that they can dispatch mobile response teams with trained mental health professionals to assist a person experiencing a mental health crisis in-person.

The supervisors will discuss both proposals and how they fit into the larger effort to streamline the County’s mental health crisis response with LA County Department of Mental Health Director Dr. Jonathon Sherin during their Tuesday board meeting. Items 24 and 25 will be held together by Supervisor Janice Hahn.

When: Tuesday, February 23, 2021 (Meeting begins at 9:30 but items will be considered later)
Where: Meeting will be broadcast live