This country should incorporate this community-based public safety system into every major city in America. This organization has been in existence since 1989.

I am sure law enforcement would welcome them with open arms.As a parent of two autistic boys, l would too.Their presence would dramatically reduce the abuse and fatality of my autistic brothers and sisters, not to mention people with mental illness, addiction, suicide, and the homeless.We should take a page out of Cahoot’s playbook and invest in their game plan, because they have the ability to make a difference…..a life-changing difference.

If their work could be put on a grand scale, it would revolutionize how we, as a society, would treat people, who are neurologically and mentally challenged. When it comes to law enforcement and how they deal with autism and mental illness, they are failing and will continue to fail, because the system needs to change.

We are the casualties of their mistakes, errors, and blunders.We have become collateral damage at the expense of their uneducated and biased procedures and practices.For the most part, law enforcement is simply not held accountable for their actions.

The workload and expectations that are placed on law enforcement is not realistic or obtainable, when it pertains to people with neurological and mental illness. It’s a losing battle and a no-win situation.Law enforcement needs to be weeded out of responding to these calls and allow an organization like Cahoots, who are professionally trained to deal with these kinds of issues, because they are better suited for the job. This would free-up and allow law enforcement to focus on other areas of their job.

Cahoots was founded in Eugene, Oregon in 1989 and has worked hand in hand with law enforcement. Over the years, they have provided consulting and strategic guidance with other communities throughout the nation, who are looking to replicate Cahoots’ model. Mental illness and autism is at an alltime high in this country and we need to make this a priority and do it as quickly as possible.

The bottom line is society will be the beneficiary of their collaboration.Law enforcement has been part of the problem and right now, Cahoots…is offering an answer.