At Feb. 1 virtual meeting, MPD 2D commander and DC behavioral health agency officials to speak on “uptick of complaints” in apartment buildings

Officers from Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District and representatives of DC’s behavioral health agency will appear on a virtual panel this Tuesday.

2D CAC Chair Sarah Bever wrote in the meeting announcement (below):

During the last few years 2D has experienced an uptick of complaints about behavioral health issues in public spaces and apartment buildings…. We are hoping the meeting will help clarify for the community:

(1) what is a behavioral health issue, a criminal issue and not an issue,
(2) when to call MPD, Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) or another entity,
(3) what resources do DBH and other agencies have available.

Click here to join the virtual meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 1st. The meeting will not be recorded

At a recent oversight hearing, DC Council members questioned DBH officials about issues of access to substance abuse and mental health services. And some participants at a December community meeting with 2D Commander Duncan Bedlion and officials from the DC Department of Human Services brought up absent case workers and gaps in services for previously unhoused residents of some Van Ness and Forest Hills apartment buildings.

Others cautioned against conflating crime and voucher renters. In that vein, the president of the Brandywine Apartments tenants association told Forest Hills Connection in December, “Behavior problems have occurred in our building with all types of residents, regardless of their income source, including students, embassy employees, people with rental subsidies and people without subsidies.” The Brandywine saw a sharp reduction of police calls to the building after an effort that included community-building work, regular communication with building management, a hands-on on-site manager and data from MPD 2D that helped the tenants association identify the reasons for the calls.

Here’s the 2D CAC meeting notice:

Please join the next honest but difficult 2D CAC Zoom meeting 2/1 @ 7:00pm. Zoom link is below.

During the last few years 2D has experienced an uptick of complaints about behavioral health issues in public spaces and apartment buildings. The meeting’s focus will be on aggressive/scary behaviors on the streets and in buildings – everything from gun behavior to verbal threats.

Sadly many complaints involve the homeless or recently housed, populations that suffer higher levels of behavioral health challenges. We are hoping the meeting will help clarify for the community:

(1) what is a behavioral health issue, a criminal issue and not an issue,
(2) when to call MPD, Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) or another entity,
(3) what resources do DBH and other agencies have available.

We are pleased to offer a panel of DC experts who will discuss the issues, offer solutions and answer questions:

– 2D MPD Commander Duncan Bedlion will speak about MPD involvement in calls regarding behavioral health issues and his efforts to coordinate with the DBH and other agencies.

– 2D MPD Homeless Outreach Officers Jasma Stoutamire and John Wright work exclusively with people on the street and the homeless. They will speak about their experiences and thoughts.

– Richard Bebout Ph.D., Chief of Crisis Services, and Amanda Baker, Supervisor Community Response Team, DC Department of Behavioral Health. They will help clarify for the community (1) what is a behavioral health issue, a criminal issue and not an issue, (2) when to call DBH (3) what resources does DBH have available.

– Lamont Carey, Director of the Mayors Office of Returning Citizens Affairs, will address how his office connects returning citizens [from incarceration] to resources such as mental health services. A disproportionate number of the homeless are returning citizens. A disproportionate number of returning citizens have behavioral health issues (and learning disabilities, but that’s for another meeting).

– Theresa Silla, Executive Director of the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness, will address how the District is coordinating resources and services to meet the goals of Homeward DC 2.0, the District’s strategic plan for ending and preventing homelessness.

Thank you,

Sarah Bever
Chair 2D CAC (Citizens Advisory Council)

Topic: 2D CAC: Behavioral Health Intersection with Community
Time: Feb 1, 2022 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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Passcode: 354584

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Meeting ID: 865 5542 7887
Passcode: 354584

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