Jersey City is working hard to respond better to mental health crises with the state’s ARRIVE Together program and a new, community-led program funded by the Seabrooks-Washington Act.
The programs aim to keep mental health crises from turning violent by bringing in mental health professionals to support police during emergencies.
But while it’s great to see these efforts, a big question is hanging in the air: will these programs work well together, or will they just add confusion?
- Jersey City now has ARRIVE Together and the Seabrooks-Washington program to make mental health crisis responses safer.
- Multiple programs help, but the lack of coordination may cause confusion.
- Success will depend on teamwork between state agencies, city officials, and local community groups.
New Jersey’s Programs to Handle Mental Health Crises
New Jersey has added several programs to handle mental health emergencies, and they weren’t put in place just because they were good ideas.
In fact, these programs were created after police encounters with people in mental health crises turned deadly.
Now, the state has a few different programs, each meant to help people in crisis uniquely:
- ARRIVE Together: This program teams up mental health professionals with police officers on 911 calls involving people in a mental health crisis. Launched by the state attorney general, ARRIVE Together now operates statewide. The aim is to get mental health expertise on the scene right away, making it less likely that things will spiral into an aggressive confrontation or unnecessary arrest. Jersey City just joined the program, adding to the 21 participating counties. In a nutshell, ARRIVE Together helps to make responses faster, calmer, and safer for everyone.
- 988 Mental Health Hotline: The 988 hotline is a national mental health resource that connects distressed people with trained mental health responders. Think of it as a mental health-focused 911. It’s also tied into local mobile response teams, so callers can also get in-person support if needed.
- Hospital Crisis Hotlines: Some hospitals in New Jersey have crisis lines that send out emergency medical teams for mental health situations. So, this adds another way for people to get help directly through healthcare providers.
While each of these programs is great on its own, they aren’t fully synced up.
Local advocates are concerned that if these programs don’t communicate well, people in need might slip through the cracks.
That’s why there’s a growing call for tighter coordination among everyone involved.
Jersey City’s Community-Led Response Program
Jersey City is working to ensure mental health crises aren’t only the responsibility of law enforcement.
Thus, the city is now part of the Seabrooks-Washington Community-Led Crisis Response initiative.
This program, backed by $2 million from a recent act named after Najee Seabrooks and Andrew Washington, aims to involve community responders.
The act is named after two men who lost their lives in police encounters during mental health crises, which sparked public outcry for better alternatives to police-led interventions.
Under this community-led model, trained locals—not police officers—can be the first line of response in some crises.
Pamela Johnson, who heads up the Anti-Violence Coalition of Hudson County, will be part of this effort, but she mentioned they face a big resource hurdle.
Right now, her team can only respond to 60 to 80 calls a year, which, of course, is much less than what’s needed.
Her group and others receiving this grant funding have one year to roll out their programs and work out how they’ll connect with local law enforcement.
Johnson also stressed that having an all-call service is essential so they can field calls day and night, especially during overnight crises when options are limited.
While Jersey City has welcomed ARRIVE Together and this community-led initiative, it’s unclear how they will interact.
City officials, including Mayor Steven Fulop, haven’t shared exactly how these programs will coordinate.
Other counties that have launched similar efforts—like Camden, Cumberland, Mercer, and Passaic—are also figuring it out, and answers are still pending.
For now, it’s a work in progress.
Waiting for a Coordination Council
The Seabrooks-Washington Act also called for an advisory council to help oversee all these programs in New Jersey.
This council is meant to include government officials and members of the public.
Although the act passed in January, this council still hasn’t been fully staffed.
Raquel Romans-Henry, a leader from Salvation and Social Justice, who helped write this law, believes the council is essential to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
Romans-Henry is optimistic that the council will help spot gaps, offer guidelines, and resolve problems between programs.
Until then, some leaders, like Zayid Muhammad, thought retraining 911 operators to handle mental health calls could help.
He argues that 911 centers should be prepared to send mental health calls to the proper responders immediately, preventing any confusion and making sure people in crisis get the help they need.
ARRIVE Together: A Statewide Plan with Local Benefits
ARRIVE Together has come a long way since its initial pilot, and the results have been promising.
Key achievements of the program include:
- Safer Interactions: When mental health professionals are on the scene, situations are less likely to get out of control. Fewer injuries, arrests, and forceful interventions happen when ARRIVE Together teams respond, keeping people safe and easing tension in crisis situations.
- Using Resources Wisely: ARRIVE Together helps keep people out of the hospital if they don’t need to be there. With mental health experts present, they can assess if someone truly needs hospitalization or if they can be supported in their community, reducing the load on hospitals.
- Building Trust: Having mental health responders involved builds trust. People in crisis may feel less threatened when they see someone trained to help them rather than just a police officer. Over time, this approach could bridge the gap between communities and law enforcement by focusing on support and care rather than arrests and punishment.
ARRIVE Together also includes a follow-up model that checks in on people after a crisis.
Undoubtedly, this makes a difference for those who need extra support but don’t necessarily require hospitalization.
So, what’s next?
Jersey City and the state of New Jersey have laid a good foundation with these programs, but they still need to figure out how to make them work together.
The hope is that the advisory council, once it’s fully in place, will help make sure everyone is working in sync.
Until then, community leaders, mental health experts, and officials must push for better coordination.
New Jersey’s approach to mental health crisis response is moving in the right direction, but to truly make a difference, everyone involved must stay committed and keep communication open.
By doing so, Jersey City and the rest of the state can build a compassionate, organized mental health crisis response system that prevents harm and builds trust.
