Conversation Starters/ Talking Points

We encourage you to personalize your message to our city officials, but here are some key points you can mention. Feel free to use or reference our research as well.

Community Response Saves Money

• Knoxville Police Department spends millions in overtime pay. Let’s lessen their burden & take some of the non-violent 911 calls

• Alternative response is always less expensive than police response

• Knoxville could save millions! What could the city of Knoxville do with just annual savings of 2-4 million to reinvest in our communities?

Community Response Improves Outcomes For Those In Crisis

• All people deserve compassionate response when experiencing a mental health crisis.

• There are many programs across the country safely running alternative response teams without need for police co-response.

• People with serious mental health disorders are 16 times more likely than the general public to be killed during a police encounter.

• Police presence can escalate people experiencing a mental health crisis.

• Incarceration is not a treatment for mental health crises and exacerbates the problem.

• There is no reason someone experiencing a mental health crisis should be at risk for arrest due to their crisis, substance use, houselessness, and more.