Vancouver city council approves $2.8M crisis response team funding

Vancouver’s city council voted unanimously in favour of approving a $2.8 million grant toward expanding crisis response teams, including the hiring of 58 additional mental health workers.

In a tweet by the City of Vancouver, it says the money has been approved to go to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), the region’s health authority, in the form of a grant to scale up mental health crisis responses in the city.

“It increases capacity, establishes de-escalation services, and strengthens Indigenous approaches,” the tweet reads.

City Council approves a $2.8 million grant for VCH to enhance public safety & mental health services. It increases capacity, establishes de-escalation services, & strengthens Indigenous approaches https://t.co/nhWsjGoy2D

Nick, Mathieu, Daniel and Colleen, Car 87/88 team, VCH. pic.twitter.com/e0bZB6QH2b

— City of Vancouver (@CityofVancouver) February 14, 2023

A council report from the city explains the funding will help implement “Phase One of the VCH’s Urgent Mental Health and Substance Use Service Enhancements Framework.”

“The VCH proposal and framework prioritizes initial City funding to support those in or approaching mental health crisis and enhancing culturally safe services to Indigenous communities, who face disproportionate impacts because of colonization and the impacts of the residential school system. Future phases of work include proactive responses such as mental health outreach, integrated case management, and integration of individuals into community,” the report reads.

Included in the money is the plan to expand the Car 87/88 program which pairs a police officer with a mental health nurse to handle non-emergency situations in order to give people in crisis more support and free up other officers to handle serious crimes in the community.

Sim said earlier in February that the grant is just the first phase of the plan to hire more police officers and nurses promised in his campaign.

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“A lot of hard work and dedication went into making this happen, and I think it’s incredibly important that we acknowledge all the people that have been behind the scenes putting this together,” said Sim. “I look forward to the positive outcomes of this announcement, and I look forward to seeing what we accomplish in the future,” he said.

In an interview Monday with CityNews, Shimi Kang, a psychiatrist and clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), says the funding is greatly needed.

“I think in general, mental health is underfunded, under-resourced, and under-supported. The more professionals that have training in the police force, fire, and other community organizations, is definitely a step in the right direction,” Kang said.

“The initial funding for 2023 will support preliminary work to begin hiring 58 positions. In future years, the City’s annual grant to VCH will grow to $8 million and may be used for more proactive and preventative services over time,” the release reads.