Representatives from the Thunder Bay Police Service Branch and Canadian Mental Health Association Thunder Bay Branch, in collaboration with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, on Tuesday announced details about a new pilot project aimed at better helping people in need during Mental Health Act calls.
Launched officially on Jan. 4, 2021, the Integrated Mobile Police Assessment Crisis Team (IMPACT) is an expansion of the Joint Mobile Crisis Response Team (JMCRT). The project is scheduled to be in place for a year and will feature a team comprised of one police officer and one crisis worker. This team will respond to all Mental Health related calls for service on a 24-hour and seven-day-a-week schedule.
“The goal of the pilot is to reduce police time in the emergency department, divert individuals from having to attend the emergency department while providing supports for individuals in the community,” said Community Services Branch Insp. Derek West. “Better service, support and intervention at the right time, right place and by the right service.”
The JMCRT, which project IMPACT expands upon, operated since June 2018. The CMHA will still operate a two-person crisis response mobile team from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week.
"I truly believe if we did not have the partnership with the Thunder Bay Police to jointly respond to mental health crisis there would be an increasing number of people who are experiencing a mental health crisis in our community, who interact with only police,” said Jennifer Hyslop, CEO, Canadian Mental Health Association Thunder Bay Branch.
“Evidence has shown that the community and all communities in Ontario have had to over-rely on police managing mental health issues. The development of IMPACT was the next logical step in providing a joint response in the community after the success of the joint mobile crisis team.”
Hyslop added the CMHA wanted to enhance the way that a person in crisis could receive care in the right place, at the right time by trained professionals and avoid unnecessary encounters with law enforcement or the emergency department.
“What we are doing with this partnership is to support, educate, advocate and generate mental health for all,” Hyslop said. “I think the timing is now and the need is now for us to take significant steps and make an impact on diverting individuals from unnecessary emergency department visits and police encounters when experiencing mental health crisis."
“IMPACT provides a valuable service to support our community and combat the mental health crisis,” said Lisa Beck, Director, Trauma, ED & Critical Care, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. “Providing care at the scene of a mental health call can help to avoid a visit to the Emergency Department (ED). If a visit to the ED is required, the IMPACT team provides reassurance for the individual and improves their patient care experience.”