Clara Reynolds and TransCare Field Operations Supervisor Lucas Lucchini had a fun morning planned. The TransCare supervisor truck was loaded with goodie bags that Clara and Lucas were going to deliver to EMT crews and Crisis Center volunteers.

Everything changed when they heard a call come through TransCare dispatch: "Truck 65. Respond to 50-year-old female exhibiting acute psychiatric distress. Stage for Tampa Police Department."

When Clara and Lucas arrived, the TransCare ambulance and Tampa Police were already on scene. Everyone was looking up to the top floor of an apartment building, where a woman was sitting in a window threatening to jump.

The police and fire teams were doing their best to calm the woman and minimize the physical risk, but she remain agitated and kept moving from her living room window to the kitchen window. She then grabbed the power line that was right outside the window, and almost fell to the ground.

Clara and Lucas sprang into action. Clara tapped into her training and experience as a social worker to have a conversation and build trust with the woman. Clara spoke calmly and confidently. She was soon able to obtain permission from the woman to enter her apartment and get next to her. Clara continued her conversation as police officers quietly entered the apartment.

Lucas then signaled to Clara to go "hands on" and let police know that Clara needed additional help to rescue the woman. Clara quickly and safely took firm hold of the woman by the arm, so police could ultimately pull her from the window to safety. The woman was then transported by the TransCare ambulance crew to St. Joseph's Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

All Crisis Center staff members receive training in Psychological First Aid, Mental Health First Aid, and Trauma Informed Care, so they have basic skills and tools to help them provide assistance to someone facing an emotional crisis. It's part of what makes the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay the community's elite provider of crisis and trauma services.