b'I went outside to see this man racing by wearingthe mission, got his coat, and left. I never saw him nothing but boots and goggles (it was not a prettyagain, but I wondered: Did he get help? sight), so I called 911 and explained what was goingIf a troubled person doesnt meet todays defini-on. An hour passed. The man was still racingtions of danger to self or others, it might be hard for around the building. I called 911 again, and thethat person to enter mental health services. Many operator told me they were not coming. Then Iare on the fringes of our rescue missions. They only talked to a sergeant. She told me that because thestay on a wintry night, or their disruptive behavior man was naked and had no weapons, he could notprohibits them from staying. be a danger to others.It has now been 60 years since de-institutional-I then asked if he was a danger to himself, sinceization of the mentally ill has been replaced with he was naked in the cold. The sergeant said thata mostly voluntary, community-based mental since he was running, he must be in great shape,health system. For some, this has had a positive and I could call back if he collapsed. I replied, Isntoutcome, enabling them to receive services and it illegal to be naked? I was told that all the nearbytreatment in the community. However, de-institu-businesses were closed, so no one could see himtionalization has caused a dramatic increase in anyway. My response was that I could see him. Shementally ill homeless. Of the unsheltered chronic told me to stop looking. The man came back insidehomeless, 78 percent have mental health issues. Of the sheltered home-less, 50 percent have mental health issues (source: U.S. Inter-Agency Council on Homelessness). How have rescue missions and ministries responded to this mental health crisis? We have been mostly reactive; a guest is disruptive or suicidal, so we get them help. We often call police crisis intervention teams or mental health outreach teams. Mission staff have had more Photo courtesy of Shelter KCtraining opportunities than ever before with de-escalation training and mental health first aid, to name a few. 34 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2025'