Mental health crisis workers will now respond to related 911 calls with uniformed police officers in Essex County.
The Ontario Provincial Police serving Essex, Tecumseh, Leamington, Lakeshore and Kingsville, was given two grants to create two Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Teams, one for adults and one for youth under the age of 16.
"Currently they are on a call basis and they respond after the calls but now they will be going out in direct work with the OPP and then referring back to the current mental health unit that works during the day," said Rob Moroz with Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare
This is expected to help de-escalate situations more quickly and hopefully avoid unnecessary hospital visits.
"Taking an individual to the hospital may ensure their safety at the moment but rarely it is the most efficient process to provide better health care and wellness or community safety for our residents," said Inspector Glenn Miller with the OPP.
The mental health response team dedicated to youth will be one of the first of its kind in the province. Miller says he expects this to have a big impact on youth in the community as they've seen mental health calls rise over 37 per cent in the last three years. In that time, 1,500 youth were taken to hospital for a mental health assessment, many because they tried to harm themselves.
