This editorial board has long advocated for initiatives to support people with mental illnesses. Multiple studies show, we noted in August, the U.S. relies too heavily on our criminal justice system to deal with the public health problem of mental illness, and our criminal justice system isn't adequately prepared for this responsibility. The city of Dallas seems to realize it too, and has taken a big step to address the issues.

In the spring of 2017, Dallas Fire-Rescue will launch Rapid Integrated Group Healthcare Teams (RIGHT) with the goal of helping people with mental illness get proper treatment instead of jail time. The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute will oversee the program, which is mostly funded by a $7 million private grant from the W.W. Caruth Foundation.

The RIGHT care team will include specially trained police officers, paramedics and a mental-health clinician. The program is designed to de-escalate situations, which is especially crucial given that, according to a Washington Post investigation, a fourth of all police shootings involve someone with mental illness. As Maj. Max Geron of the Dallas Police Department wrote on Twitter earlier this month when the program was announced: "Answer for mentally ill is not more arrests, new approach will help alleviate problems and get help to more people."

In addition to helping those struggling with mental illness, the program is designed to save time, effort and money. Jailing a person with serious mental illness costs nearly $50,000 per year on average, according to the Center for American Progress. Community-based interventions cost significantly less.

The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute has said that one in 10 Dallas County inmates is in jail solely because of mental illness. The Dallas County jail is the second-largest mental-health treatment facility in Texas, after the Harris County jail. Of the 5,200 or so Dallas County inmates, one-third have mental illness.

"It's going to help us run what we're supposed to run: a jail," Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez told The Dallas Morning News' Naomi Martin about the new program. "Not a hospice, not a mental institution, not a hospital. It'd be nice to actually run a jail."

Former Dallas Police Chief David Brown offered a similar message to the world after the July ambush that killed five officers. "We're asking cops to do too much in this country," he said, and his first example was handling mental health issues.

On average, Dallas police receive 32 calls a day related to someone with mental illness. In those situations, people are typically brought to jail or an emergency room, even though in many cases what they actually need is simply a caseworker or access to medication. Other cities and counties are trying to address the issues that come with imprisoning people with mental illness, too, but Dallas' plan is unique because it also aims to reduce visits to hospital emergency rooms, not just jails.

This program won't solve all of the issues that come with mental illness, but it can alleviate some of them. And that's unquestionably a step in the right direction.