1. Prepare your home before police arrival by removing any items that could be used or perceived as a weapon. Turn on all the lights in your home to improve visibility and turn off all the audio (televisions, stereos) to reduce distractions.
2. Try to meet the police officers outside before they interact with your loved one. Brief them on what has been going on, the emotional state of your loved one, and share helpful suggestions on what may work best for your loved one.
3. Be direct and open. Do not exaggerate the situation or leave out relevant information. Be prepared to give a brief history of your loved one’s behavior.
4. Give police at the scene a brief information sheet (1-2 pages), that includes a photograph of your family member, medical and psychiatric history, treatment information, and family caregiver contact information.
5. Ask the police officer or ambulance driver where your friend or relative is being taken. If the police believe that the person meets criteria (see below), they will be placed on a 5150 and transported to a designated facility for psychiatric evaluation and treatment. The individual can be held at a designated facility for up to 72 hours.
   
   
   
   
   

A person can be held against their will in a psychiatric facility only if they meet at least one of the three basic criteria listed:

• The person is a danger to others. Danger to others may be interpreted as the person means to carry out the threat. The threat must also be substantially related to the mental health challenge.
• If the person is a danger to self. The courts generally interpret this as a life-threatening danger to self (i.e. suicide). 
• If the person is gravely disabled. The law states that a person must be unable to provide for their own food, clothing or shelter as the result of a mental challenge to qualify as gravely disabled. Across California jurisdictions, "grave disability as the result of a mental illness" is interpreted differently. Courts generally rule a person is not gravely disabled (even if they are incapacitated) if they have friends or family who will provide food, clothing, or shelter for them. This is important, as 'having a place to go' and 'having someone to provide for them’ influences decisions as to whether to release a loved one. It is important to discuss as a family whether you are able to take a loved one home with you and safely provide care for them at this time.

AB 1194
An important legislative change that impacts families is AB 1194. This law removes the word “imminent” from danger to self or others from 5150 eligibility criteria, which basically means families don’t have to wait until they are witnessing someone harming themselves or others to call for help. This law also requires the LPS 5150 application to record whether the historical course of person’s mental health challenge was considered in the determination of probable cause. 

SB 1152
SB 1152 requires hospitals to revise current discharge policies to assist homeless patients in preparing for their return to the community by helping them identify a post-discharge destination, with priority given to identifying a sheltered destination with supportive services. Prior to discharging a homeless patient, hospitals are required to document and perform a checklist of events, such as offering the homeless patient a meal, screening for infectious disease, weather-appropriate clothing and transportation to a certain destination within a 30-mile radius.  Hospitals must also have a written plan for coordinating services and referrals for homeless patients with the county behavioral health agency, health care and social services agencies in the region, health care providers and nonprofit social services providers. Each hospital will be required to maintain a log of the homeless patients discharged from their facilities and the post-discharge destinations.