ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A wide net is being cast to learn more about how people in Rochester are, or are not, getting the care they need.

The Commission on Racial And Structural Equity (RASE) opened its virtual doors for a town hall meeting Thursday night to hear from community members who experienced problems concerning mental health and substance abuse.

Panelists at the RASE commission town hall want to understand whether the care people are searching for is easily available or if they face barriers to getting what they need.

"Mental healthcare should be more accessible and people should receive more education so that they know how to find and utilize resources in the community for mental health, whether it be for preventative care, or ongoing support after a discharge from hospitalization," said community member Haley Dennis.

Dennis also believes people should have access to integrative services in which all mental health providers work together to provide the best treatment for the patient.

“While the pandemic is certainly the backdrop to the current mess we find ourselves in, it has only revealed to me what was always true, that there’s little to no substantial institutional support in the city of Rochester, as well as nationwide," said Dassy K., another community member.  

Many community members at the town hall called for a stop to police response to mental health calls and mentioned some changes to that structure that have only come after the death of Daniel Prude.

Some experts on the panel say it’s hard for people in need to find services at all and say the system needs to expand.

“We need to do better and we need to stop talking about it, we need to stop putting ourselves first as if we’ve got a plethora of services. If I hear one more time about all of the services we have in this community, my family says if they don’t know about it, it doesn’t exists, so we’ve got to do better with regard to that and make sure that we put our money where our mouth is when we’re talking about valuing, providing services for our families, and individuals in our community," said Lawana Jones, president & CEO of The Autism Council of Rochester.

Panelists say this will not be the last community town hall and they believe more voices need to be heard on these sensitive topics.