Essex County, ON – The residents of Essex County that are policed by OPP will soon have enhanced access to mental health and addiction supports thanks to a newly awarded grant for the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team (MCRRT).
MCRRT is a partnership program between Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) and the Essex County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The team is comprised of dedicated Crisis Intervention Trained (CIT) OPP officers who respond to mental health-related calls alongside CIT-trained Social Workers/Crisis Workers from HDGH. The team helps de-escalate crisis situations, provide immediate mental health needs and risk assessments, and assist in connecting individuals with appropriate services.
We are pleased to share that our Essex County MCRRT has recently been awarded the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General’s Mobile Crisis Response Team Enhancement Grant aimed at enhancing preexisting MCRTs that support mental health and addictions systems.
“The prevalence of complex mental health and addiction concerns in Essex County has steadily increased over the years. The Crisis workers' experience and education help to de-escalate crisis situations through the use of advanced skill training and an understanding of mental health, addictions, and expertise in dealing with traumatic events,” explained OPP Inspector Glenn Miller. “OPP members and health care partners working together means improved safety and better outcomes for those impacted through a mental health or addiction crisis.”
The grant will provide additional funding of $166,500 for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 fiscal years for Essex County MCRRT, resulting in the addition of a part-time Social Worker. The expanded unit will provide coverage to properly support those in crisis seven days a week.
With 166 calls attended from April to November 2020, 65% of those resulted in a positive diversion from area emergency departments.
“MCRRT is an essential resource for our region,” says Bill Marra, HDGH President and CEO. “With the addition of this part-time role, the team will continue to greatly assist our acute care partners’ emergency services, as well as support the residents of Essex County who rely on this essential service to connect them with crisis resources and keep them out of hospital where appropriate.”
The announcement of this grant brings Essex County OPP MCRRT to the spotlight on a provincial level. Regionally, we hope to spread the word even more about this and other Mental Health and Police Teams with the introduction of a new video series entitled, We Respond.
Completed by Axel films, the video series includes four videos that take the viewer through the day-to-day experience of our Mental Health and Police Teams: Essex County MCRRTs, Mental Health Response Unit (MHRU), and Youth Crisis Response Team (YCRT).
We encourage our community to watch and share these videos through their respective social media channels to bring greater awareness to the important work and resource that is our Mental Health and Police Teams.
