LOS ANGELES—The city council unanimously approved $1 million March 15 to fund and create the Office of Unarmed Response and Safety, which council members said is necessary to expand the 9-8-8 suicide and crisis hotline to include an unarmed crisis response.
According to a motion by Councilors Bob Blumenfield, Marqueece Harris-Dawson, and Eunisses Hernandez, the new office will require at least three staff members to solely focus on the expansion of the city’s Crisis and Incident Response Community-Led Engagement program and unarmed crisis response teams.
