The Austin City Council approved $1.46 million on March 6 to hire more mental health specialists capable of assisting residents over the phone and in person during a crisis when they dial 911, along with extending the operating hours of a crisis phone line.
Integral Care, the Travis County mental health authority, has a pre-existing team of clinicians. Kedra Priest, practice administrator of crisis services, said the new funding will allow the authority to add over 15 total positions to its Crisis Call Diversion Program, otherwise known as C3, and to its Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, which is a group of clinicians and nurses who visit callers in-person to stabilize them. She said mental health crises encompass a multitude of experiences, including suicidal ideation, paranoia and psychosis.
The funding will also be used to change the mental health crisis line operational hours. Currently, Priest said the line operates Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and on weekends, it runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. With the money, she said operations will transition to 24 hours daily.
“It makes me very excited that they recognize the needs of our community and want a skilled mental health response for those individuals that are experiencing (a) mental health crisis,” Priest said. “24/7 is really exciting and a really valuable resource.”
In addition to Integral Care, the University also has its own mental health crisis line that operates 24 hours every day under the Counseling and Mental Health Center, according to the Healthyhorns website. Laura Kinch, HealthyHorns associate director of communication and marketing, said students are guaranteed a response from a crisis counselor when they call.
Priest said Integral Care currently fields over 350 to 400 calls per month. The additional funding will help ensure callers receive a response and are redirected to the proper support, she said.
“We do know that there were calls that C3 was unavailable, and that call likely went back to police for a police response when we could have been helpful,” Priest said. “It’s not that we weren’t there. It’s just (to ensure) capacity for all of the calls that have a mental health need.”
Angela Carr, division chief for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services, oversees the Clinical Navigation Division. She said this group comprises paramedics who work with the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team and are trained to de-escalate mental health situations. The resource expansion could encourage more conversations about mental health, Carr said.
“Another thing that we need to work through is understanding how prevalent it is, knocking down some of that stigma, making it a normal thing to ask for help,” Carr said. “It’s totally appropriate and usually the best way to go.”
Priest said she would like Integral Care to implement the changes to the new operating hours and hire the new staff members as fast as possible.
“Mental health is just as important of a response as fire, EMS and police,” Priest said. “My hope is that, in some ways, it will communicate to everyone that this is something that many people experience, and we want you to receive the support that is appropriate in those times.”
