The District Launches a Mental Health Emergency Dispatch Program

In June 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser launched a program to shift 911 calls for emergency mental health services from an automatic police dispatch to a dispatch inclusive of a mental health crisis response.

“This program builds on all our efforts to make sure we are providing residents the right care at the right time,” said Mayor Bowser. “The sooner we can identify what a person needs - whether that is an ambulance, a doctor’s appointment, or in this case, a visit from a behavioral health expert, the sooner we can help them. That’s what this is about: making sure we get Washingtonians the help they need when they call us.”

The pilot is a partnership between the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, the Office of the City Administrator, the Office of Unified Communications (OUC), and the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). During the pilot, DBH’s Community Response Teams (CRT) will serve as specialized, rapid response units to be dispatched to mental health-related 911 calls instead of automatically deploying police officers.

“This initiative strengthens the clinical response to all crisis calls for mental health care including those that come directly to DBH, as well as those through the 911 system to get people the best, most appropriate treatment and supports they need, ” said DBH Director Dr. Barbara J. Bazron.

The District is joining a growing number of cities across the country that are implementing similar systems.

The CRT, which currently is dispatched to hundreds of calls each month, will work with community partners and consumer-led groups to promote the availability of clinician-led teams for emergency mental health care.