County News Center: More Psychiatric Teams Now Ready for Emergency Calls -

Thanks to some additional funding, a San Diego County program that pairs a licensed mental health clinician with law enforcement for emergency calls has been ramped up. There were 23 teams. But with an additional $1.6 million from the County for this fiscal year, the number will jump to 33 teams this month.

We’re talking about 33 Psychiatric Emergency Response Teams or PERT, which pairs a licensed mental health clinician with a Sheriff’s deputy or police officer.

Together, the pair responds to emergency calls where mental illness could be a factor. When a psychiatric crisis call comes in and law enforcement responds, the mental health clinician is right along the deputy or police officer in the squad car. Their goal is to compassionately de-escalate crises and reduce the number of incarcerations and hospitalizations resulting from those episodes.

In 2014, local law enforcement authorities received about 21,500 PERT-related calls. The teams of trained professionals respond to incidents on the streets, people’s homes and anywhere else that a mental health crisis is occurring. When a PERT team is not available, 9-1-1 operators dispatch an officer who has been trained on PERT protocols.

Individuals experiencing mental health challenges can access services by calling the County’s 24-hour, multilingual Access and Crisis Line at 888-724-7240. Resources are also available the It’s Up to Us website http://www.up2sd.org/.

Read the entire article at http://www.countynewscenter.com/news/more-psychiatric-teams-now-ready-emergency-calls.

What do Facebook, Twitter, Nextdoor, ImproveUC and UCCA have in common? They are all ways neighbors can connect with neighbors and the University City community. Create a post, start a conversation, share the news, organize an event, keep in touch, take a look: