Chapel Hill Review

The Chapel Hill Police Department and Orange County have joined forces to establish a new mobile crisis team in Chapel Hill. On Monday, they unveiled the Crisis Assistance, Response, and Engagement (CARE) team. This team is designed to respond both physically and virtually to crisis calls that do not necessitate a law enforcement response.

Chapel Hill Police Chief Celisa Lehew explained the motivation behind this initiative: “We know from the experience of our longstanding Crisis Unit that many calls involving behavioral health, mental health, and substance use require a specialized response.” She added that for the first time, a crisis counselor will be stationed in Orange County’s 911 call center as an integral part of the CARE team, demonstrating their commitment to comprehensive community response.

This crisis counselor at the 911 call center will reroute non-emergency calls away from physical responses when suitable. The counselor will also offer remote support to callers prior to the arrival of first responders or the CARE team.

Kirby Saunders, Orange County's Emergency Services Director, expressed his enthusiasm about this novel approach: “Welcoming a crisis counselor into our 911 call center is groundbreaking. This counselor can begin supporting community members over the phone while simultaneously helping to determine what support or response is most appropriate. We believe this will become an invaluable resource.”

The mobile component of the CARE team includes another crisis counselor, a peer support specialist – someone with firsthand experience dealing with challenges faced by vulnerable community members – and a community emergency medical technician. The CARE team's goal is to divert 911 crisis calls towards a group trained to provide safe therapeutic responses based on evidence-based best practices.

Kim Woodward, Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services in Orange County, shared her excitement about embedding their first Community EMT on the CARE Team: "This experienced EMT is capable of providing first aid, wound care, and will augment the team in providing crisis support. This EMT will also bring the added benefit of bridging the crisis response to the traditional EMS response when necessary.”

The UNC School of Government will assist in evaluating the program, and a community-based advisory team will provide input to guide the program's future development. The goal is to expand coverage throughout the county within two years.