Some people called 911 after a loved one overdosed. Others are struggling with anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Still others wanted help convincing their teenagers to go to school.

No matter the circumstances, the Bloomington Police Department has a new goal: to get them a therapy appointment within one to two days of their call.

"I don't know of another agency in the country that is doing this," Police Chief Booker Hodges said.

After George Floyd's murder in 2020 provoked an international debate on policing, some departments boosted their efforts to partner with social workers. Other cities, such as Minneapolis, contracted with community organizations to send mental health experts to some 911 calls.

The Bloomington Police Department hired two licensed marriage and family therapists to meet with people for free in their homes, at the local government center or virtually in telehealth appointments. It's since brought on two interns from St. Mary's University of Minnesota to help boost the division and supply students with the clinical hours they need to graduate. The therapists work to help stabilize people in crisis, with the goal of getting them into long-term therapy, if it's needed.

"Once somebody is in crisis, we have to strike while the iron is hot to get them to engage in services," said Luke Campbell, the therapist who oversees Bloomington Community Brain Health Services.

But doing that was often simpler said than done. The city estimates that 4,200 residents are uninsured, and even people who are insured often told police they faced wait times of eight to 10 weeks to see a therapist.

In the first seven months of the pilot program, the therapists received 44 referrals from police officers, the social workers who already partner with officers, or local schools. The program is meant to be a short-term solution that helps people until they can get into longer-term treatment.

The program recently won a national award from a group that honors local governments. It's in a pilot phase, but officials say they're already seeing signs that it's helping some people.

Just over half of the people the police department therapists worked with received long-term mental health treatment, and Campbell said only a couple reported making repeat calls to 911.

A complicated problem

Some mental health advocates say their feelings about the program are complicated.

"I do appreciate police departments trying to address the mental health crises and substance use crises in their communities," said Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI Minnesota. "But we also want to build our mental health system and build it through our health care system, not our criminal justice system."

Abderholden said NAMI Minnesota often encourages police departments to partner with local mental health centers, rather than trying to offer the services themselves. She said the organization wants clients to have the best chance of developing a long-term relationship with a therapist, and assurances that patients' sensitive information will be handled with the same care that it would in a health care setting.

"If we're really trying to build our mental health system, where do we want to put the dollars? Where do we want to put the focus?" Abderholden asked.

Campbell said Bloomington leaders thought through many of those same issues when they were setting up the pilot program. He said the clients' mental health records are housed in a separate system accessible only to the therapists, and police officers don't have the computer application needed to view them.

While the program is meant to offer short-term services, Campbell said therapists do consider giving clients extra services if they need to fill a gap.

"If somebody is in clear, continued crisis, and let's say they're uninsured, they're unable to get in anywhere, then we make that a priority," Campbell said.

Chief Hodges said the program costs about $218,000 per year, a small fraction of the department's roughly $38 million budget. Officials used money from opioid settlements and state public safety funds to cover the program's initial expenses but are now trying to find longer-term funding.

"We'll make it happen," Hodges said. "It benefits us all when people who have brain health issues are able to get immediate help and not have to wait."