B.C. to see more mental-health, substance-use crisis supports

The B.C. government says it is expanding mental health and substance-use crisis supports to nine more communities.

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Jennifer Whiteside was in Chilliwack Monday for the announcement, which will see the expansion of the province’s Mobile Integrated Crisis Response (MICR) Teams, or Car programs, to Abbotsford, Port Coquitlam/Coquitlam, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Penticton, Vernon, Squamish, Prince Rupert, and the Westshore.

Whiteside says the goal is that people facing mental health challenges will be “met with compassion and appropriate care.”

“We are expanding crisis-response teams across the province to ensure that, at their most vulnerable time, people in distress in our communities receive a health-focused response and connections to the services and supports they need on their pathway to well-being,” she said.

Related articles: 

• B.C. invests in youth addiction supports

• B.C. funds women’s society offering addiction-related support

• Vancouver Island refugee, immigrant counselling centre to see new funding

Whiteside was joined by Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, who adds the program’s expansion is a step toward combatting “the biggest challenges we face to keep people and communities healthy and thriving.”

“We have heard from many police departments and health authorities that currently run Mobile Integrated Crisis Response Teams that the programs are extremely helpful – and the demand is growing. Expanding the MICR Teams program will help connect more people in crisis with the appropriate supports and services they need,” he said.

According to the province, the teams consist of police officers who are paired up with healthcare professionals in the event that police receive a mental-health-related call.

“Teams provide on-site emotional and mental-health assessments, crisis intervention and referrals to appropriate services in the community. Built on partnerships between municipal police departments or local RCMP detachments and the regional health authorities, these teams help free up police resources to focus on crime,” a news release reads.

One in five police interactions involve “someone with a mental health disorder,” the province notes.

Several MICR programs are already at work in the province, including in Surrey, Richmond, and Vancouver.