San Mateo County will increase its 24/7 cellular psychological well being disaster response service this Could, providing another for residents who is likely to be hesitant to hunt assist on account of potential police involvement in psychological well being conditions.
Residents can name the San Mateo County Disaster Line at 650-579-0350 or 988 without cost assist for themselves, relations or mates. Dispatchers will display screen calls to find out the suitable response, coordinating with 911 and emergency providers if needed. The service will likely be obtainable to residents of all ages dwelling wherever within the county.
The county selected to launch its outreach marketing campaign in Could to coincide with Psychological Well being Consciousness Month, aiming to boost consciousness of the service and learn how to entry it.
Whereas the service shouldn’t be a substitute for 911 in life-threatening emergencies, the county emphasised that many calls made to emergency providers associated to psychological well being crises might not essentially require a police response.
“This service provides an alternative to traditional law enforcement response,” the county stated in a press release. “Many county leaders, along with advocates for those with mental illness, have advocated for an approach to responding to those in a mental or behavioral health crisis without law enforcement’s involvement.”
Responders will arrive in unmarked autos — with out lights or sirens — and will likely be obtainable across the clock, day-after-day of the yr, the county stated. Their purpose will likely be to stabilize conditions and, if wanted, transport people to services or assist decide and prepare the suitable stage of care.
Cellular staff members are required to bear intensive state-mandated coaching to make sure they’re ready to deal with a variety of disaster conditions.
Comply with-up help will likely be offered 24 hours after the primary name, and county behavioral well being providers will assist facilitate short- and long-term remedy plans geared toward stopping future crises.
Related cellular psychological well being disaster response groups exist already in different components of the Bay Space, together with San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose.
San Jose beforehand confronted scrutiny over its dealing with of psychological well being incidents after a 2023 investigation by the Bay Space Information Group, KQED and the California Reporting Mission discovered that people experiencing psychological well being points had been concerned in virtually three out of 4 of the San Jose Police Division’s use-of-force incidents reported, together with 80% of deadly encounters, over a decade.
“We want to make sure it’s clear that no matter when or where in the county you are dealing with a behavioral health crisis, there is appropriate support available, and it can come to you when you need it most,” stated Dr. Jei Africa, director of Behavioral Well being and Restoration Providers.
A pilot program in San Mateo County ran from Could 2024 by way of March. Throughout that interval, the cellular disaster staff was deployed 320 occasions and served 220 purchasers. Response occasions had been recorded at round 60 minutes in central county areas and inside 90 minutes on the coast.
Following the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors’ approval of almost $5 million final yr, this system is structured with native nonprofit StarVista working the decision heart and Telecare Corp. offering psychological well being clinicians.
Telecare has offered comparable cellular disaster providers in San Diego County since 2021.
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