Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare is enhancing mental health support in Windsor-Essex by launching the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team.
This team replaces the former mental health response units.
Speaking on AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides, Kevin Matte, director of Outpatient Mental Health Services, said the new model pairs specially trained social workers with Essex OPP officers to respond to live crisis calls.
"When there's a 911 call, they go out, social worker and officer, they'll come to wherever the 911 call is taking place, they'll do de-escalation, they can provide immediate mental health support and conduct a risk assessment," Matte said.
Seven adult units and a youth unit for those under 16 are now in operation and current clients will continue to receive follow-up care.
Matte said the team helps divert people away from emergency departments.
"A lot of times they've had to apprehend people under the mental health act and bring them to an emergency department. Having a clinician with them gives them that professional opinion on whether that person needs to go to the emergency department, or we can support that person in the community by providing referrals, community resources, working with the person on a safety plan," Matte said.
The initiative also strengthens collaboration with Windsor Police Services, and expands crisis support across the region.
Matte said it gives them the flexibility to respond to more calls.
"We're talking about a pretty large geographical area right, with the OPP, so if you have mental health call in Leamington and Tecumseh at the same time, before if we only had one person that could go to 911 calls, obviously they wouldn't be able to respond to both, but this gives us the flexibility to do that," he said.
Matte said social workers and officers began responding to live calls on Wednesday.
-With files from CTV Windsor