(upbeat music) - I'm Starla Sampaco in the Crosscut KCTS 9 newsroom.

(upbeat music) The new emergency 988 number connects people with mental health support by bypassing the police-focused 911 system.

Black leaders and mental health advocates in Washington are cautiously optimistic.

Studies show that Black people with mental illness are more likely to be arrested and incarcerated than others.

And police are more likely to kill unarmed Black men exhibiting signs of mental illness than they are white men.

Michael Swann, a counselor and Health Chair for the Seattle King County NAACP said quote, "Law enforcement often is not trained to handle mental health crises as effectively as a counselor would."

Swann is also concerned about the underrepresentation of counselors of color, as well as the often negative view communities of color have about the mental health system.

I'm Starla Sampaco.

Find nonprofit Northwest news every day on crosscut.com.

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