Key Trends in Alternative Mental Health Crisis Response in the United States

William Juhn, JD - New York Lawyers for the Public Interest Jordyn Jensen, M.Ed - Center for Racial and Disability Justice presenting at the 2026 Alternative Mobile Services Virtual Conference This session will examine emerging approaches to mental health crisis response that move beyond traditional police-led and co-response models. Drawing on national research the presentation will share high-level insights from a forthcoming report analyzing non-police crisis response programs across the United States. Over the past several years, jurisdictions have increasingly explored alternative crisis response models in response to growing evidence of the harms associated with law enforcement–led interventions, particularly for people with disabilities and people of color. This session will discuss key trends identified through a review of more than 150 crisis response programs nationwide and highlight common elements associated with rights-based, non-carceral approaches. The presentation will focus on cross-cutting observed across programs, including the integration of peers with lived experience, the use of consent-based and voluntary services, efforts to reduce police involvement, and the importance of community-rooted program design. The session will situate these models within a broader policy and funding landscape shaping crisis response, including developments affecting sustainability and implementation. The goal of the session is to provide practitioners, advocates, and policymakers with a clearer understanding of how rights-aligned crisis response models are being designed in practice, and to offer a framework for thinking about non-police approaches to mental health crisis response grounded in dignity, autonomy, and community-based care. William Juhn is a Senior Staff Attorney in the Disability Justice Program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Prior to joining NYLPI, William was an associate at a civil rights law firm, where he represented deaf and hard of hearing plaintiffs in anti-discrimination cases in both federal and state courts. He has also worked at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the MinKwon Center. William earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he received a Certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies, his M.A. from Fudan University. Jordyn Jensen is a disabled leader with expertise spanning urban planning, critical disability studies, special education, and community development. Driven by lived experience, her work focuses on non-punitive crisis response models, the criminalization of disability, and systemic inequities at the intersection of disability, race, and gender. Jordyn holds a B.S. in Applied Learning and Development, an M.Ed. in Special Education, and a master’s portfolio in Critical Disability Studies from The University of Texas at Austin. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Urban Planning & Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago.