A New Public Safety Tool: Mobile Crisis Response Teams
The County of San Diego has a new program to keep our community safe!
Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT) is a new program to send specialized mental health clinicians, peer support specialists and case managers who can respond to calls when someone is having a mental health emergency.
You can call MCRT if you see someone experiencing a mental health crisis, or if someone you know needs immediate mental health assistance, by dialing 9-8-8.
MCRT dispatch will then send trained mental health experts, not law enforcement, to respond to these non-violent emergency calls.
Since taking office, Supervisor Lawson-Remer has focused on expanding MCRT to be operational 24/7 throughout all of San Diego County.
This helps ensure individuals with behavioral health needs are connected to the appropriate services while freeing up our police officers to focus on fighting crime and keeping our communities safe.
If you are unsure if the situation you are in or witnessing is appropriate for MCRT, you can call 9-1-1 and they will make that determination.
A New Way to Help People Get Off the Streets
In the first year since the County's Mobile Crisis Response Teams began operating, the non-law enforcement program responded to nearly 700 calls and successfully linked over 110 people to treatment services. Of those MCRT has served, approximately 20% were experiencing homelessness.
Supervisor Lawson-Remer has taken the lead in getting MCRT operating throughout all of San Diego County, and voted again in 2023 to expand this vital program which helps our County tackle the mental health, addiction, and homelessness crises on our streets.
Learn more about MCRT here.