Richard Ott: Inpatient Psychiatric Care, Law Enforcement, and the Unhoused Juggernaut
Richard Ott joins the chat to talk about wearing glasses and fighting fires while being disguised as your average office worker. All of which leads us to wonder, is Richard… Superman? In addition to discussing the foibles to getting older, he stops by to discuss the intersection of mental health services and the unhoused. Richard has worked in the healthcare field for over 25 years, with 16 years of that time being spent working in acute, inpatient psychiatric care at Oregon State Hospital (OSH). At OSH he worked as a direct service provider (clinician) and held administrative level positions. Currently, Richard works as a Compliance Officer, Privacy Officer, Risk Manager, and Safety Officer for The Portland Clinic. In addition, for more than a decade, in his off-work time, he also volunteered as a firefighter/EMT and saw firsthand the pernicious impacts mental health and addiction related issues have had on individuals, families and communities. Welcome, Richard!
It should be noted, that while Richard is super knowledgeable about the mental health system, he is not speaking in an official capacity, and doesn’t represent the views of either his current or former employer.
Some terms and topics heard in our chat include:
- The “LEDS” system or Law Enforcement Data System
- Central City Concern - non profit focused on helping people find home, regain health, and move toward long-term stability and success.
- PSRB or the Psychiatric Safety Review Board
- In Vancouver, WA if you don’t know who to call, and don’t feel like it rises to the level of 911 for emergencies, you can call 311 which is non-emergency police dispatch.
Language Changes over time. In this interview, you’ll hear us all refer to “unhoused”, “homeless”, and “unsheltered” interchangeably. We are aware these terms are in flux, and hope that our use of all these terms interchangeably indicates a sincere focus on the topic at hand, while in the midst of learning new terms.
Get in touch with Richard by contacting us here at Internal Chatter.