A new community-based mobile crisis program is set to launch on Aug. 18 — one that is designed to address the immediate needs of people experiencing behavioral health crises.
The Mobile Crisis Services of Lane County will assist folks in “an urgent or emergent, perceived or actual inability to cope,” said Sarah Macrorie, program manager at Lane Behavioral Health.
MCS-LC will have six vans stationed in Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Junction City, Oakridge, and Walterville.
Mobile crisis intervention teams of two qualified providers will respond in branded vehicles, dispatched to wherever a person is experiencing a crisis within 72 hours.
“We’re going to come to where people are … It doesn’t matter if you’re in the house, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the street,” said Macrorie. “We’re happy to come to you wherever you are and help someone manage a crisis in real-time.”
Each MCS-LC vehicle contains a team of two certified mental health practitioners:
A provider with a bachelor’s degree and a specialized mental health certificate from explicit training in crisis response and a peer support specialist who has both lived experience and gone through specialized courses to learn how to utilize those encounters to best aid individuals in emergency situations.
Every team is equipped to administer Naloxone (Narcan) in the event of an opioid overdose, providing potentially life-saving intervention.
Crisis de-escalation and safety planning are the key services MCS-LC provides to all individuals 18 years old and older. Children under 18 will be referred to Riverview Center for Growth for more specialized care.
“We are providing services, not replacing services,” said Del Borden Jr., information specialist at Lane Behavioral Health.
In the initial phase, MCS-LC will provide services from 2-11 p.m. seven days a week until they are eventually able to add a day shift from 6 a.m.-11 p.m. The end goal is to provide accessible behavioral health services for the county 24/7.
“When you have a trained behavioral health professional who’s responding to a behavioral health crisis, your outcomes are going to be better than someone who’s just trying to figure it out on the fly,” said Eve Gray, director of Health and Human Services.
If the caller has private insurance, MCS-LC will attempt to pay through that, but it isn’t required to access the service.
“We know that if we can manage people outside of emergency room care or inpatient hospitalization, that is better for people and less expensive,” said Gray.
Patients will acquire services regardless of what information they’re willing to disclose, meaning they don’t have to provide identification to get the help they need.
MCS-LC receives a base grant from the state and funding through coordinated care organizations to execute these services. They also accept Medicaid whenever a patient has a provider.
“We’re serving folks regardless of their ability to pay, so everyone will receive service,” said Macrorie.
The sources that funded CAHOOTS in the past are now mandated to be used for mobile crisis services. CAHOOTS will handle issues like trespassing calls, welfare checks, and homeless encampments. It will take on higher-level behavioral health cases in the area when someone needs immediate intervention.
In the coming years, MCS-LC will strive to open a crisis and stabilization center to serve as a non-emergency space to provide on-site support for people in need.
The primary way to access MCS-LC services is to call or text 988 — the national crisis and suicide hotline. If the situation can’t be relieved over the phone, a dispatch team will respond with the appropriate services for any given emergency.
The county crisis line — 541-682-1001 — operates the same way. Both lines can connect to 911 and are not used for general information.
Upcoming info sessions: Sept. 26 from noon-1 p.m. via Zoom; Oct. 11 from noon-1 p.m. at Coburg Fire Department; Nov. 7 from 12-1 p.m. via Zoom; and Dec. 6 from noon-1 p.m. at Cottage Grove Community Center. The Sept. 26 meeting is accessible at tinyurl.com/3vz48tur and the Nov. 7 meeting at tinyurl.com/3dvpu5m5.
