Projects on Strengthening Support in Times of Crisis

San Francisco, CA – It is our pleasure to introduce the third set of projects from our 2021 Fellowship class.

The projects, focused on Strengthening Support in Times of Crisis, propose the creation of the Technology Safety Initiative, a one-stop shop for addressing technology-facilitated abuse, and recommend tech interventions that states can take up to divert mental and behavioral health crisis calls from 911 to the new 988 Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Hotline. These projects were released on March 1st at the Aspen Tech Policy Hub’s demonstration day webinar. The recording is available to view here.

We invite you to learn about the projects below and read about them in more detail on the Hub’s projects page. Please join us at our next demonstration day webinar, March 15 at 9am PT to see the fourth set of projects, focused on Equipping Vulnerable Communities for 21st Century Needs. Following the presentations of the projects, Nick Sinai, Senior Advisor at Insight Partners and former US Deputy Chief Technology Officer, will give further remarks.

The Tech Safety Initiative: Helping Survivors of Tech Abuse

by Lodrina Cherne

There is currently no central office or website within the federal government to address tech-enabled domestic violence and stalking through nonconsensual device monitoring. As a result, survivors struggle to find resources and support in such situations. This project proposes the creation of a new Department of Justice website, the Technology Safety Initiative, that can serve as a one-stop shop for addressing technology-facilitated abuse.

Accelerating Adoption of the 988 Mental Health Crisis Hotline

by Micah Mutrux

Every year, approximately 18 million calls are made to 911 that involve mental or behavioral health crises. The rapid, police-led response that 911 is optimized for is not well suited for these situations, as appropriate crisis care is typically beyond responders’ scope of practice. This project recommends four low cost tech interventions that states should take up to divert mental and behavioral health crisis calls from 911 to 988: the new 988 Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Hotline launching in July of 2022.