The Crisis Response, Community Led team (CRCL) aims to help those in crisis across seven communities in B.C.
Teams can be found in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, New Westminster, Victoria, the Comox Valley, Prince George, Kamloops, and Kelowna.
The program was previously called Peer Assisted Care Teams.
CRCL is supported by the Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division and in each community, a local supportive organization.
The mobile teams are made up of both professionals in the mental health field and peer support workers who have been in crisis themselves. All members have undergone training for crisis situations.
“When a person is in crisis, being met with understanding and compassion can change everything,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. “The Crisis Response, Community Led service is an extraordinary example of how leading with empathy can foster meaningful connections to supports and services on a person’s journey to wellness.”
The program serves anyone in the various communities, aged 13 and up.
The calls for help can come from anyone
The calls come from the affected themselves, a family member who recognizes their loved one is not in their normal state, or a concerned community member.
It might include thoughts of suicide or self-harm, feelings of grief, distress, panic or anxiety, and/or acting in ways that are concerning.
The teams offer connections to mental-health, substance-use, and community supports.
CRCL has been in the province since 2023, and in that time, they have answered about 20,000 calls for help, says a new report.
Success stories are reflected in new report
“Meeting someone experiencing a crisis with care and understanding can be not only life-changing, but lifesaving,” said Jonny Morris, CEO, CMHA BC.
“Our evaluation report shows that CRCL is an appropriate and effective response to a mental-health crisis, underscored by the data showing that mobile teams only requested emergency services in fewer than 1 per cent of dispatches. We are so proud of the local service providers and CRCL workers who show up every day to serve their communities with compassion.”
The mobile teams are trained to help de-escalate situations that may involve a mental-health crisis or substance-use challenges. From there, they can connect to community services for further support.
According to a new report by CMHA BC, over 56 per cent of CRCL calls are people calling for help for themselves; the other 43 per cent were made by family, friends, bystanders, and service providers.
CRCL also helps divert those in crisis from tying up police resources.
According to the report, 98 per cent of the calls CRCL received were able to be handled without including other first responder involvement. While on a mobile call, less than 1 per cent of people requested that emergency services be contacted.
“A mental-health crisis looks like many different things for different people. The important thing to know about CRCL is that it is a personal service, in that you get to decide that this experience, this moment today, has exceeded my coping and I need support,” said Lacey Mesley, CRCL, Victoria. “
It’s a sense of truly understanding someone’s experience and being present in that with them.”