Published on November 04, 2024
In August 2023, the C.A.R.E. Team (Crisis Alternative Response and Engagement), a co-response partnership between Tompkins County Whole Health (TCWH) and the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, was launched as an effort to divert community members from the criminal justice system in response to crisis calls. Since its inception, 247 calls have received the support of the C.A.R.E. Team, directly addressing the emotional or behavioral health crisis needs of community members. The C.A.R.E. Team has reduced unnecessary use of other first responders including ambulances, as well as decreased the number of emergency room visits and hospital admissions.
Staff on the C.A.R.E. Team include specially trained officers along with licensed clinical therapists. Using de-escalation techniques and trauma informed crisis intervention methods, the C.A.R.E. Team is able to intercept dispatch calls to directly respond to real-time crisis needs, as well as provide welfare checks to calls that may have come in after-hours. Additional benefits of the C.A.R.E. Team include follow up support to provide referrals to community programs and assistance with basic care needs.
TCWH Licensed Clinical Therapist Rachel Webb stated, “The C.A.R.E. Team has helped reduce hospitalizations, deter from incarceration, and get people into services, saving a lot of community resources and time. We are able to provide an appropriate intervention, especially when mental illness is the primary need.”
Of the calls recorded in the Sheriff’s Office Dashboard, nearly half (45%) resulted in a mental health referral. Only 4% of calls resulted in criminal charges being filed, with 67% of callers being stabilized on-site.
Tompkins County Sheriff’s Deputy Debi Barber stated, “We provide mental health help for mental health calls. The C.A.R.E. Team helps free up other resources, as we have the dedicated time to spend on crisis situations. We do not rush things; we are there to listen and work with them to help them make decisions to better their lives in that moment. We can unravel what is going on and get to the heart of the matter.” Barber reflected on a time when a call was flagged for the C.A.R.E. Team as the caller was expressing suicidal thoughts, but it was determined that the caller was actually in crisis due to lack of access to food. The C.A.R.E. Team was able to address their basic needs and provide the support they needed, engage them in follow-up care, and ensure they were stabilized following the crisis call.
Barber continued, “This program is not going to solve the mental health crisis, homelessness, or the drug crisis, but it does put a dent in it. This program helps everyone in the community, with a positive ripple effect for law enforcement to feel better equipped to respond to mental health needs, and people can get the help they need and see law enforcement as there to help.”
TCWH Licensed Clinical Therapist Kristen Morse, who works on the City of Ithaca Police Department’s C.A.R.E. team, stated, “Being a part of the C.A.R.E. Team has taught me a lot about intersecting systems. Working with families and individuals, providing welfare checks, responding to accidents and other crisis situations… we get to help people in real time, each day may be something different.” The City of Ithaca Police Department launched their C.A.R.E. team in February 2024.
Morse continued, “We hope that people will see that law enforcement is here to help. We encourage people in the community to feel empowered to contact law enforcement when they need help, knowing that they will be responded to in humanizing, compassionate ways.”
City of Ithaca Police Department Chief Kelly stated, “The C.A.R.E. Team has been effective at bridging a gap in health services to prevent people in need of mental health services from slipping into the criminal justice system. The officers benefit as well in the shared experience of working with the clinicians.”
When calls are placed to 911, local dispatchers identify if the call should be directed to the C.A.R.E. Team. Calls that come in outside of C.A.R.E. Team hours will be responded to via a welfare check.
Are you experiencing problems with mental health and want to get help now? Come to TCWH’s Mental Health Services during Open Access hours to begin treatment as soon as you walk into our building at 201 E. Green Street (Ithaca). TCWH currently offers walk-in, Open Access Hours on Mondays-Thursdays from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM, to see a clinician and begin the intake process, no appointment needed.
EMERGENCY AND CRISIS CONTACTS FOR 24-HOUR HELP if you or someone you know needs to speak with a mental health professional:
For life-threatening emergencies, dial 911
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, DIAL 988 (1-800-273-8255)
Veterans: dial 988 and Press 1 or text 838255.
Visit www.veteranscrisisline.net for online chat and more.
Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741-741.
Ithaca’s Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service hotline, 1-607-272-1616.
Learn more about Tompkins County Whole Health’s Mental Health Services online at: www.tompkinscountyny.gov/health/mh