SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diego County's Mobile Crisis Response Teams are marking a big milestone, helping thousands of people dealing with a mental health crisis.
Since the program launched three years ago, these specially-trained teams have answered more than 13,000 mental-health calls.
On a daily basis, local law enforcement in San Diego County receive over 100 calls for service for mental health-related concerns, calls that can often be handled more effectively by mobile crisis response teams.
"It is best used as a prevention method," said County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, highlighting the success of San Diego's mobile crisis response teams (MCRT) in terms of what it helps to avoid.
"It can actually lessen the chance that an individual ends up on our streets," Lawson-Remer added.
These teams also help reduce the burden on local hospitals and emergency rooms, as well as on local law enforcement.
"Over 98% of calls have been diverted from armed law enforcement, resulting in a trained mcrt team arriving instead," Lawson-Remer said.
That specialized team includes a mental health clinician, peer support specialist and a case manager.
Nearly 8,000 San Diegans in crisis have been assisted by these highly-trained teams, which can be dispatched to a home, business or street location.
"MCRT is about access and prevention," said Dr. Luke Bergmann, director of San Diego County's Behavioral Health Services Department.
"The number behind this service make clear that it works," he added, "that it is significant at the population health level."
Among those numbers, according to the county, is an average response time of 17 minutes by an MCRT team.
Also, more than half of all calls are successfully resolved in the field, with no need to transport the client to an ER or other service.
On top of that, an untold number of clients getting behavioral help early can help decrease the number of San Diegans experiencing homelessness, "because it can help folks manage their conditions before they end up on the streets," Lawson-Remer said.
If you or someone you know is in need of a mobile crisis response team, you can call 9-8-8.
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