Seeking Help and Getting Handcuffed

When someone experiences a mental health crisis, they are often met by police officers. The person is handcuffed and taken to a hospital, where the doors are locked and medication is forced on them. Patients leave traumatized, saying they are reluctant to seek psychiatric help in the future. This is the crisis state of North Carolina’s behavioral health system, which relies heavily on law enforcement, emergency rooms and involuntary commitments. In this series, we report some of the reasons behind the rise of involuntary commitment petitions in North Carolina and how it impacts patients seeking help.

‘Behavioral health emergency’: NC health organizations ask state leaders for help

By Taylor Knopf Some of the state’s top health organizations are asking North Carolina leaders for a meeting to address what they’re calling a “behavioral health emergency.” The COVID-19 pandemic caused immeasurable stress and loss, resulting in more people needing mental health services. The demand increase has strained North Carolina’s already fractured mental health system. …

by Taylor Knopf June 25, 2021October 19, 2021

Health Care Half Hour: Mental health and the overuse of involuntary commitments in North Carolina – June 17, 2021

by Editor June 17, 2021March 28, 2022

State lawmakers seek non-police, community interventions to mental health crises

As more mental health patients find themselves handcuffed in a police car headed to a psychiatric hospital, a bipartisan group of lawmakers filed a package of bills that would offer community-based alternatives for people in mental health crisis.

by Taylor Knopf May 18, 2021October 19, 2021

Despite pitfalls, counties leave psych patient transport in sheriffs’ hands

When given the chance to rethink police involvement in responding to people in mental health crisis, most counties maintained the status quo. This is the third part in an occasional series examining the consequences of North Carolina’s increased use of forced psychiatric treatment.

by Taylor Knopf March 23, 2021October 19, 2021

NC didn’t track the data on mental health commitments, so some advocates did it instead.

Advocates found the state had a big problem, but because no one was counting, no one was aware of how many psychiatric patients were being treated against their will. This is the second story in a series about how more people in mental health crisis end up involuntarily committed for treatment and why that’s a problem.

by Taylor Knopf December 21, 2020October 19, 2021

More NC psych patients are ending up handcuffed in a police car. Why?

North Carolina’s use of involuntary commitment for mental health patients increased by 91 percent over a decade. This is the first in an occasional series of stories where we’ll explore what factors are contributing to this rise and what it means for patients.

by Taylor Knopf December 14, 2020March 28, 2022