Listen to this note:
Residents facing a mental or behavioral health crisis will soon be able to request a mobile response team with de-escalation specialists who can connect people to the right services.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to award a nearly $5 million contract to Telecare Corp., which will work with local nonprofit StarVista to operate the new response system.
Callers at 650-573-0350 will be able to request help for a family member, friend or anyone (including themselves) who is experiencing or at risk of a mental or behavioral health crisis.
The specialized teams will provide a countywide alternative to armed law enforcement response for the first time in San Mateo County.
?This alternative response model is another great step in ensuring that community members get the appropriate, person-centered response when and where they need it. “I am delighted to be a part of making this critical resource available to our community as our work in this space continues,” said Supervisor Noelia Corzo, who sponsored a study session on mobile unarmed mental health response at December 2023.
Once calls are reviewed, the hotline will dispatch clinicians trained in crisis assessment, de-escalation and intervention. They will arrive in nondescript vehicles (without lights or sirens) 24 hours a day, any day of the year, with the aim of stabilizing situations and, if necessary, taking people or organizing transportation to the appropriate level of care.
“This is a compassionate approach to helping people with mental or behavioral health issues that must be carefully treated by trained clinicians,” noted Supervisor David J. Canepa, who along with Corzo presented today's Telecare contract to the Board for your consideration.
The response team will also be equipped to administer Narcan, a medication that can treat a narcotic overdose in an emergency situation.
?The county Behavioral Health Commission and the broader community have been calling for an unarmed, 24-hour response to the countywide crisis for those who need urgent help related to mental health issues, homelessness and substance abuse?, Corzo stressed.
Nationally, up to 15 percent of 911 calls are for behavioral health emergencies, according to a 2021 study published in the journal Psychiatric Services.
"This is a 24/7 unarmed response intended to keep people in crisis who do not pose a danger to themselves or others out of our emergency rooms and jails," Canepa said. “I see this as the first step in intensifying and elevating the unarmed mobile crisis response across the county for generations to come.”
Dr. Jei Africa, director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services who will manage the Telecare contract, said this team approach will have a “significant impact” for those who need care.
?We will be able to provide additional mobile response services to those who need them like never before, meeting people wherever they are: their homes, workplaces or on the street. It will also mean less burden on our other county response systems, which will mean fewer emergency department visits and unnecessary law enforcement involvement,” Africa noted.
The service will partially begin in May with one team during weekday afternoons before fully increasing in August to five 24/7 teams and two on-call teams. It will be for people who do not need immediate hospitalization.
The County, along with Telecare and StarVista, will develop an outreach campaign to promote awareness of the hotline number and service.
Response times are expected to be 60 minutes in central areas of the county and 90 minutes in coastal regions.
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