Addressing the now-decades long crisis of substance use and abuse requires bold solutions. As the mayor of Henderson, I am proud to share an innovative, collaborative initiative of law enforcement and
intersections with behavioral health.
Henderson recently launched a Mobile Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT) to more directly respond to behavioral health and substance use crises. As a public safety advocate and mother of a physician, this is a special initiative to me personally, and I think it is an important model for how cities address complex problems.
The impetus behind the MCIT began in 2019 as concerns were growing after a decade long crisis of over-prescribing addictive painkillers for both minor and chronic ailments. People who became addicted to painkillers quickly switched to illicit opioids such as heroin and, more recently, illegally manufactured fentanyl.