Commentaries from the Edge: Mental Health on the Frontlines
Episode #13: Bac Luu at LAPD Headquarters
Good news from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD): A partnership, decades in the making is changing how mental health crises are handled. Bac Luu, a Mental Health Clinical Program Manager I with DMH, shares insights on how embedding mental health professionals within the LAPD is improving outcomes for both law enforcement and the community.
Since 1993, programs like the Systemwide Mental Health Assessment Response Teams (SMART) and Case Assessment Management Program (CAMP) have paired police officers with mental health professionals to respond to crises. Over the years, this collaboration has expanded, earning national and international recognition. Luu continues the work pioneered by Chuck Lennon, proving that teamwork between policing and mental health services benefits everyone.
Episode #14: Reuben Wilson & the 988 Crisis Lifeline
LACDMH’s “Who Do I Call for Help?” campaign highlights the importance of 988 — a 24/7 national crisis number providing immediate support. Reuben Wilson, head of the Alternative Crisis Response (ACR) Unit, explains how this initiative diverts mental health emergencies from law enforcement to trained professionals.
With years of experience in crisis response, Wilson is leading efforts to expand awareness of ACR and 988 across Los Angeles County. In partnership with Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, DMH ensures that those in distress always have someone to call, someone to respond, and somewhere to go for continued care.
Episode #15-16: Miriam Brown and Francisco Tan
As May as Mental Health Awareness Month approaches, so does our focus on community emergency outreach at the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH). One thing is clear: innovation is making a real difference.
The final two episodes of our podcast features Francisco Tan, psychologist and head of LACDMH’s Psychiatric Mobile Response Team (PMRT), who takes us into the field to explain how his eight Teams operate. Each team may include a social worker, nurse, community health worker, and often a peer — someone with lived experience of emotional distress. Available 24/7, PMRT can be reached at (800) 854-7771. Teams respond directly to individuals in crisis, providing on-site evaluation, collaboration with other agencies, consultation, and connections to ongoing care. Their primary goal is to help individuals remain in their communities with the support they need — a goal shared across LACDMH’s Emergency Outreach and Triage Division.
At the helm of this division is Miriam Brown, Deputy Director of Emergency Outreach and Triage. With deep experience and unwavering dedication, Miriam brings a broad vision to how LACDMH responds to emergencies across Los Angeles. Her leadership has helped position the department as a national model for mental health crisis response.
Miriam acknowledges that it takes a certain kind of person to face the relentless challenges of emergency mental health outreach — work that often requires coordination with police, fire, public health, probation, schools, and community organizations. For decades, she has cultivated strong partnerships with these agencies to ensure the best possible outcomes for those in crisis.
The scope of her team’s work is vast: school threat assessments, mental health-related criminal behavior, volatile family disputes, individuals exhibiting high-risk behavior, and more. This outreach reflects LACDMH’s proactive commitment to reaching every corner of the community — to prevent unnecessary incarceration or hospitalization and to help people with mental illness live safely and with dignity.
Miriam’s steady leadership continues to make Los Angeles a healthier, more compassionate place.
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