MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — Arizona is renowned for its red, desert terrain, the striking beauty of the Grand Canyon and — perhaps less well known — one of the best mental health crisis response systems in the country. For more than 20 years, the state has been building an integrated crisis ...
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![Seattle Times: 3 lessons Washington can learn from how Arizona helps people in mental health crisis](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/05/988-AZ-trip-1140x600.png)
![State of Reform: Q&A: Sen. Manka Dhingra discusses possible improvements to Washington State’s crisis response methods following Arizona visit](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/05/1652840415-girmay_manka_and_tina_orwall_in_az-700x600.jpeg)
Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) represents Washington State’s 45th Legislative District. She’s a member of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee and has helped pass legislation to transform the state’s behavioral health system—reorienting it around prevention rather than crisis response—during her time in the Senate. Dhingra traveled to Arizona this month to learn ...
Read More![The Stranger: New Hotline Could Pave the Way for an Unarmed Crisis Response in Washington ... Eventually](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/05/1652840415-girmay_manka_and_tina_orwall_in_az-700x600.jpeg)
Most trips that lawmakers take to “listen and learn” about “best practices” in other states usually amount to nothing more than poorly disguised vacations, but every once in a while there’s an exception that proves the rule. Washington State legislators Manka Dhingra and Tina Orwall led one such excursion this month ...
Read More![Seattle Times: Not all crimes merit high-speed chases that risk bystanders’ lives](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/10/20200228_122017kr-1140x600.jpg)
By Manka Dhingra Special to The Times Janice Porcher was on a routine work errand one morning in 2017 in Fife. A nine-year veteran deck hand for Washington State Ferries, she was a favorite of her colleagues for her smile and her kind demeanor. Just after turning left at a green light, ...
Read More![State of Reform: State leaders prepare for implementation of the 988 call line](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/03/20180126_103112ab-1140x600.jpg)
Behavioral health officials discussed the implementation of the 988 suicide prevention call line at a meeting on Tuesday.
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![The Stranger: Finally, a Crime Dashboard You Should Care About](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/07/Featured-Image-2-scaled-1-1140x600.jpg)
Any casual observer of our local debate on public safety will know that dashboards are all the rage these days. Mayor Bruce Harrell campaigned on his love of data visualization. The Purge cosplayers over at the Seattle Police Officers Guild can’t get enough of them. But not all dashboards serve to ...
Read More![Seattle Times: Women of color are changing the dialogue in WA’s Legislature](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/04/20180302_153921ab-1140x600.jpg)
By Manka Dhingra and Rebecca Saldaña Special to The Times “No two countries run by women would ever go to war.” That recent judgment by Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg may be open to debate, but we have seen clear evidence during the pandemic that when women assume political leadership, it leads ...
Read More![Seattle Medium: Inslee Signs Legislation Boosting Access To Community-based Behavioral Health Treatment Into Law](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2022/03/20180126_103112ab-1140x600.jpg)
Last week, Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation into law that will improve access to community-based treatment for people with serious behavioral health issues and make it easier for families to get their loved one’s care when they need it, without hospitalization. The bill, HB 1773, introduced by State Rep. Jamila Taylor ...
Read More![Bellevue Reporter: Community health centers are the backbone of equity in our healthcare system](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/10/20180126_103426kb-1140x600.jpg)
By Manka Dhingra and Lisa Yohalem Special to the Bellevue Reporter. After two years on the frontlines of pandemic response, our health care system has taken a beating. Providers such as community health centers have felt serious impacts on their workforce and finances. While federal emergency funds helped keep clinic doors ...
Read More![Crosscut: New WA police accountability law can now include past misconduct](https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2021/02/20210113_145819ab-1140x600.jpg)
The body that licenses police officers in Washington state has decided to apply a new police accountability law to past misconduct, instead of only to officer misconduct that occurred after the law took effect last July. The vote by the state Criminal Justice Training Commission resolves a dispute between lawmakers and ...
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