Friends,  Most communities do not have the services necessary to assist someone experiencing a mental or behavioral health crisis, so law enforcement has served as the default first responder. This approach depletes public safety resources and makes communities and officers less safe.   Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT) dispatch trained mental health clinicians, not law enforcement, to respond to non-violent emergency calls.

I am proud to report that these response teams are now active county-wide!  Residents all across our region can dial the Access-In-Crisis-Line at (888) 724-7240 to reach a dispatcher (who is also a trained clinician themselves). They will assist in deploying the appropriate responder.

There is more work to be done as we aim to completely integrate with the 9-1-1 system throughout our region (already up-and-running in Chula Vista and National City). Please help spread the word about this critical resource!  I know families with loved ones who experience mental health challenges have plenty of questions about this new program. The County Health and Human Services group has put together a Frequently Asked Questions page that can be viewed by clicking HERE. If you have additional questions not found on this page, please email MCRT@sdcounty.ca.gov. Your questions will be included in future website updates. Books – 24/7! Last week we opened a new 24/7 Library Kiosk to bring books closer to where people live and work. I'm so excited my neighbors in Encinitas have another County Library just steps away from their home. I look forward to seeing more options like these installed in more places!

Serving our Neighbors  Looking for ways to give back this holiday season? My team enjoyed serving meals with PATH San Diego. Read about their volunteer opportunities at: https://epath.org/volunteer/

From my family to yours, I’m wishing you a wonderful and safe holiday season! In service,  Terra