What makes a city livable? The answer, some say, is more “third places,” spaces distinct from one’s home (the first place) and one’s workplace (the second place). A third place, like a café, park, or library, fosters the sense of community and connection that makes a neighborhood great to live in. This imprecise yet uncomplicated framing effectively refocuses a complex set of social, economic, and urban design issues on a simple solution to the “livability” problem.
I believe that the “third place” framework also can usefully reframe another discipline: emergency mental health care. Individuals experiencing mental health crises lack an appropriate setting to receive care. Typically, individuals experiencing acute, emergency mental health crises-–whether related to substance use or not-–end up in one of two places: the hospital emergency room (ER) or a jail cell. The problem is that neither of these two places is well-equipped to treat someone in the midst of a mental health crisis. A third option is needed.
