An unmarked gray van pulled into a South King County apartment complex on a drizzly June afternoon. A 911 caller had reported a family member was hearing voices and seemed disconnected from reality.
A mental health professional and a case manager, not police or emergency medics, knocked on the door. A few hours later, this emergency crisis response team drove the resident to a crisis stabilization program, where she could get inpatient treatment and support.
The first response system has long relied on 911 calls, police officers and firefighters to get people urgent help. Experts agree this hasn’t served people with mental health or substance use needs, who have often ended up in hospital emergency rooms or in jail, or haven’t gotten help at all.
King County is building an alternative. As part of a massive mental health care expansion, largely funded by a $1.25 billion property tax levy, the county is creating a mental health-focused response system driven by the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, mobile crisis teams that respond to emergencies in person and low-barrier centers dedicated to providing walk-in care.
Read the full article at the Seattle Times, here.