When experiencing mental health crisis, many people rely on emergency services such as 9-1-1 dispatchers,
paramedic services, police services and hospital emergency department services. Emergency response to
mental health calls has recently gained significantly greater attention, recognizing that these interactions may have substantial, potentially life and death consequences for those already in distress. Many of these first response services lack sufficient resources and training and have few options to offer when providing care.
Humber College and TAIBU Community Health Centre & Middlesex-London Paramedic Service will collaborate on the “Developing a best practice model for mental health crisis care: A community-engaged
approach” project which brings together community-based service providers and emergency care providers
to develop a best practice model for response to mental health crisis care. This project plans to highlight and develop practices that appropriately support all members of the community requiring emergency mental health support with particular attention paid to those of lower socioeconomic status, Black and Indigenous communities, People of Colour, and LGBT2SQ+ and immigrant communities. In addition to a best practice model, the project aims to co-develop workshops and training for practitioners working in these fields. Along with the partner organizations, this multi-disciplinary team of researchers bring extensive academic and frontline experience from across care sectors.