The Saint John Police Force headquarters. (Staff photo)
Two officers from the Saint John Police Force are joining Horizon’s Mobile Crisis Response Team as part of a three-year pilot project.
The new integrated team will see trained mental health professionals and an officer attend crisis calls and wellness checks together.
The pilot project has been in the works for months, according to Sue Haley, director of addiction and mental health services for Horizon in the Saint John area.
“The literature does support that, in a collaborative effort by both policing officers and skilled mental health professionals, the outcomes are generally better,” said Haley.
Saint John has had a mobile crisis response team for just over 20 years but this is the first time the team will include officers from the city’s police force.
Haley said when they receive a call, either through 911 or the 1-888 mobile crisis unit number, a nurse will attend along with a plain-clothes police officer in an unmarked car.
“The police officer will be assisting in ensuring a safe environment so that the nurse will be able to complete a comprehensive mental health assessment. The police officer, at the same time, will be collecting collateral information from anyone else on the scene,” she said.
The two officers who have been seconded to Horizon have been training for several months and will receive specialized training in mental health crisis intervention techniques.
Haley said it is hoped the integrated model can help accomplish several goals, such as improving response times to mental health calls.
“If it’s a 911 dispatch call, the police would go out to the scene. They would investigate the situation and make a determination that maybe this is a mental health crisis, so then they would call the mobile team. Then the mobile team would go out to the scene and conduct a comprehensive assessment. That takes a lot of time. Now by responding together, you don’t have the lags,” she said.
Officials also hope the program will divert individuals from the criminal justice system, decrease the number of visits to the emergency room and increase the time for regular officers to respond to non-mental health-related calls.
“Mental health calls have certainly become more prevalent in the daily calls to the Saint John Police Force. With the implementation of this Crisis Response Team, we are ensuring residents in need of assistance are receiving it as quickly as possible so evaluations are completed and best steps going forward for residents are put in place,” said Stephan Drolet, chief of the Saint John Police Force.
Saint John police said they saw a 52 per cent increase in mental health-related calls from 2013 to 2017. Police also brought people to the emergency room 430 times in 2019, according to Haley.
The Department of Health has earmarked $900,000 for this project over a three-year period.
Jean Daigle, vice-president of community for Horizon, said the pilot will enhance mobile crisis response in the Saint John area while providing another layer of safety for clients and staff.
“We are hopeful this model of care can be expanded to Horizon’s other mobile crisis teams moving forward, as we truly believe it will make a profound impact in our communities,” said Daigle in a news release.
The integrated team, which launches on Oct. 19, will be available seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
“We had been offering services from eight in the morning until midnight, but what we’re finding is that the calls were not coming in until about 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., so we are changing the times,” said Haley.
Haley said Horizon has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chimo Helpline, which will take the calls outside of those hours
Follow
