Residents urge city to back a community crisis response team amid suicide-awareness month

Several River Falls residents urged the City Council on Sept. 9 to support creation of a community response team to handle mental-health crises that do not require emergency-room transport or law-enforcement detention. The appeals came during the meeting's public comment period, which featured speakers representing local advocacy groups and families affected by suicide and overdose.

The call was led by Benjamin Fox, who opened public comment saying, "September is mental or, suicide, awareness month or something like that." Fox noted the stress of his family's experience and urged the city to promote economic and community development as part of broader supports.

The request for a structured response was emphasized by Linda Vivoda Sade, who identified herself as "a community mental health advocate" and a member of RF Action. "If we didn't know who to contact, there are probably other people who don't know where to get help in similar situations," she said, describing a gap between public-health services and public-safety responses.

Michelle Hansen, board president of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Saint Croix Valley, said families are showing up at local support groups after a crisis because other options are limited. "The typical scenario is law enforcement is called because there is an escalation," Hansen said. "...if the person doesn't meet the requirements to be detained... there's not much that can be done."

Heidi Retker, a River Falls community member and RF Action member, described local losses to suicide and overdose and urged the city, human-services providers and public safety officials to convene with community organizations to map existing resources and legal, training and funding barriers. She warned that some families are forced to use out-of-area facilities with high daily costs.

Taylor Stevens, a high-school teacher, certified mental-health first-aid instructor and River Falls Action member, said the group has surveyed residents, met with business owners and prepared a 10-minute presentation on models of mobile crisis response used elsewhere. "We would love to be able to have that opportunity," Stevens said. "I know you can't respond to me today, but I would love to hear from someone if that is at all a possibility..."

Speakers repeatedly cited two operational problems: long waits for outpatient care and an unclear next step when someone in crisis does not meet criteria for involuntary detention. Multiple commenters said therapy appointments can have "a 6- to 8-week" wait before intake, a delay they said is untenable for families in acute distress.

Councilmembers did not make a formal response during the public comment period. The requests were presented as appeals for staff and elected officials to convene with community organizations, research mobile crisis models and consider how to fund and staff a local response structure.

Context and next steps: speakers asked city staff to follow up with RF Action and other community partners to review research and models from Wisconsin and Minnesota. The group said it has been conducting research since an earlier presentation to the council on April 9 and is prepared to offer a short briefing to staff or the full council.

Local advocates said the proposed community response team would aim to reduce law-enforcement involvement in nonviolent crises, improve immediate access to care and connect families to ongoing services. No formal council action on the request was taken at the Sept. 9 meeting.