Pilot project would send civilian response personnel to mental health crisis

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VICTORIA – Victoria is moving forward on a pilot project that would see mental health crisis requests diverted to first responders with mental health training rather than police officers.

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The pilot project represents “a paradigm shift” for mental health calls, from a criminal response to a health response, said Jonny Morris, executive director of the BC branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, which is leading the project. .

Because the police have become the default responder, people in crisis often end up in a jail cell or an emergency room, neither of which is equipped to deal with the underlying factors driving a crisis, he said. Morris to councilors during a meeting Thursday.

“I would love to see a day where, if you are experiencing a mental health emergency and there is no risk of violence or harm, no one is transported in a police car to an emergency department, and I am always left with the question of how We got there.

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“We are responding inappropriately,” Morris said.

The goal of the pilot project is to provide emergency support and connections to other services that can help address the situation behind the crisis, he said, adding that there are likely still situations involving mental health calls that require presence. of police officers. .

The province has provided more than $ 320,000 in financing for the pilot project.

While it is still in development, with many details to be worked out, the project is expected to launch in the fall of 2022.

The Canadian Mental Health Association is working with Victoria Police, Island Health, community agencies and people with lived experience with mental illness to design the program.

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A similar program in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, called CAHOOTS, has been shown to divert money from more expensive medical care in emergency departments and save money on surveillance.

In operation for more than 30 years, the program dispatches teams of two, consisting of a doctor and a crisis worker, to respond to non-criminal crises involving mental illness, homelessness and substance use, 24 hours a day. of the day.

Of the 24,000 calls CAHOOTS responded to in 2019, fewer than 150 required police assistance, where people were violent to themselves or others, operations coordinator Tim Black previously told the Times Colonist.

Coun. Ben Isitt expressed concern about a potential conflict of interest in VicPD helping design the program, saying that the police force has a keen interest in maintaining its current role in the mental health emergency response.

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Morris said he has heard “deep support” from VicPD representatives, who understand that the pilot project would add to the continuum of emergency responses.

Many councilors expressed their wish that the project start as soon as possible and continue permanently.

An alternative response to mental health is “much needed and long awaited,” Coun said. Jeremy Loveday.

Coun. Stephen Andrew, who spent time this week following statutes and police officers working on the streets and in parks to prevent camps, said he saw mental health and addiction supports clearly inadequate.

VicPD spokesman Bowen Osoko said Thursday the department could not comment on the potential impact of the pilot project on police.

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Chief Del Manak and the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board backed the idea last year of a civilian-led response to some mental health calls. At the time, Manak said it should be seen as an addition to the system, rather than cutting the budget of the police department.

Julian Daly, executive director of Our Place Society, said he welcomes an alternative response to mental health emergencies. Daly worked for an organization in Edmonton that operated a similar program, called Crisis Diversion 24/7, that sent social workers to people in crisis.

“It was voluntary. People didn’t have to go with them, but most of the time they did. And because they were in a relationship, they were often able to defuse situations very quickly, ”he said.

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