B.C.'s first civilian-led mobile mental health crisis team expanding to 2 more municipalities

B.C.'s first civilian-led mobile crisis team which launched in November to assist police responding to mental health calls on the North Shore is expandingto two moreB.C. municipalities.

When the Peer Assisted Care Team (PACT)is called, a mental health worker and a peer support worker are dispatched to assist, providing crisis counselling, resources, and if needed or wanted, accompanyinga person to the hospital.

There are no branded vehicles. No sirens. No uniforms. That's intentional to keep the interaction discreetand provide privacy to the person or people in need.

"Whereas, if you call 911 you might have one, two, three police cars that showup to the scenes. And there's obviously gonna be more than one officer and sometimes it draws a lot of attention," said Sean Doust, a PACT peer worker.

"Knowing that if I'm in a crisis situation, I don't need to rush to emergency.I don't need to call 911.That there is another option and that a care team can come de-escalate thesituation, get me through that day and then find what I need going forward."

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) North and West Vancouver says the pilot program isB.C.'s first civilian-led crisis team to providean alternative or auxiliary service to a police response related to mental health.

"I do think we would be able to meet people in a more immediate way if we were integrated into 911," said Julia Kaisla, the executive directorfor CMHA North and West Vancouver Branch, who hopes to seethe pilot program evolving and expanding in the years to come.

The program's creation follows incidents involving the use of force by police during wellness checks.

In August2019, Kyaw Naing Maung, was off his schizophrenia medication, when he was shot three times in his bedroomand killed by Ridge Meadows RCMPtrying to apprehend him under the Mental Health Act.His sister had called 911 to ask that he be taken to hospital to restart his medication

Currently, calls are being taken Thursday to Sunday, from 6 pm-midnight in English and Farsi.North Shore community members can call 1-888-261-7228 or text 778-839-1831.

In the six months since the launch,the team has responded to over 270 calls.

"A lot of the calls we've had has resulted in less 911 calls. So that's a success," said Daoust.

Launching in New Westminster & Victoria

The provincial government announced in April it's providing$1.26Mthrough Budget 2022 toexpand PACT on the North Shore and to see branches created inNew Westminster and Victoria later this year.

"Crisis situations that are met with community-based care prevent the criminalization of our communities' most vulnerable people," said Sheila Malcolmson, the minister of mental health and addictions, in a statement. "These new peer-assisted care teams will support people in distress and connect them to the services they need, while freeing up valuable police resources."

The Mental Health and Addictions Ministry, in a statement, also pointedto the CAHOOTS community-based crisis-intervention team in Eugene, Ore.,as a reference, saying "it averts approximately $8.5 million in policing costs annually and answers 17 per centof police calls".

Concerns over police involvement

Meenakshi Mannoe, a campaigner with Pivot Legal Society, said while the program has promise, she is deeply concerned that police areinvolved in the program's development and,at times, officers are being dispatchedby the team.

"It's not actually fully removing resources from policing. It's an auxiliary policing program."

She fears police intervention in mental health crises too often leads to people being funnelled into the criminal justice system.

"Alot of people who'veexperienced trauma or have had previous experiences with the police, that uniformed officer armed, is already a trigger. If you add criminalization, being racialized, being black or Indigenous, it's really a recipe for disaster."

Instead, she suggestsdiverting police funds tocommunity grassroots initiatives that respond to mental health crisesand that can also provide support to people who use drugs, pointing to thelink between the drug crisis and the need forbetter mental health responses.