The Role of ZFHX4 in Regulating the Cancer Stem Cell State

This past summer, Americans have had to confront the pervasive racial injustice and ill-equipped public health infrastructure that underlie our daily rhythms. On the one hand, the COVID19 pandemic had a debilitating effect on the morale and mental health of us all. On the other hand, a wider reckoning with the violent history and present of the United States has reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement and the demands to defund the police. With so many things in tension and veiled in uncertainty, it is tempting to get lost in the rhetoric or overwhelmed by the losses. It is easy to forget that the people who suffer the most are often treated the worst. And vice versa. If we treat people better, perhaps their suffering will decrease.

When a situation arises and no one knows what to do, the first number people think to call is probably 9-1-1. As a result, the police handle cases ranging from mass shootings to accidental iPhone dials to mental health crises. This broad range of responsibilities is taught in 28 weeks in the St. Louis Police Academy at the Metropolitan Police Department in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. [Include interview with the police station if possible]. Police departments across the nation have become call centers for general SOS cries. But not all calls should be treated equally. And when people struggling with mental health issues are perceived and treated as criminals, an emergency call can be deadly. The Washington Post found that since 2015, about a quarter of all people killed by police officers in America have had a diagnosed mental illness. Daniel Prude was one of many that unfortunately suffered from a mental breakdown in public. Due to misunderstanding, mistreatment, but probably both, Prude suffered from fatal injuries. In this scenario, calling the police cost a person’s life rather than protecting the wellbeing of the community.

To combat the shortcomings of a system that was never meant to bear so much of the weight of caring for the community and all of its individuals, Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets or CAHOOTS exists in Eugene, Oregon to provide mobile crisis intervention 24/7. They do not function as a substitute for the police department; rather, they work in conjunction with the police-fire ambulance department to dispatch teams of a medic and crisis worker to provide care or medical attention in mental health crises.

This organization was started in 1989 when the White Bird Clinic collaborated with the city of Eugene to improve the city’s response to mental illness, substance abuse, and homelessness. Interestingly, the White Bird Clinic was formed only two decades prior to the formation of CAHOOTS. The clinic is unique in its interest in alternative and experimental approaches to addressing societal problems.

At present, CAHOOTS responds to more than 65 calls every day. Demand is high, but not just in the Eugene-Springfield Metro area. More cities are beginning to implement similar mobile crisis intervention teams including Denver, Oakland, Olympia, and Portland. This integrated health care model could be a key solution in providing better crisis care for our cities’ homeless population, our neighbors, and ourselves. •