Grey Bruce OPP is expanding its Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) to include a clinician in Saugeen First Nation.
Provincial Constable Krista Linthorne says this pilot builds upon the already established crisis response team first launched in 2022, by continuing its collaboration with Grey Bruce Health Services (GBHS) to station a clinician at the band office and respond when needed to police calls for service.
“We are putting a worker on the Saugeen Reserve, hoping that having someone in the community, they would ensure the community would be more receptive to speaking to someone that is trained in mental health calls,” says Linthorne.
Linthorne says the clinician from GBHS would respond to calls involving mental health and addictions.
“Initially the call needs to come from a 911 call to police for a person in crisis. A police officer will attend initially and assess the situation, and then they would bring the mental health professional in to respond to the call. Having them right there, they can support the individual in crisis by providing de-escalation, community assessments, referrals to any community supports that they might not be already linked to,” says Linthorne.
Linthorne says the stationed clinician will also be trained in Indigenous culture.
It won’t be a 24/7 program. The clinician will be stationed at the band office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Linthorne adds she hopes they can show a need for the service to continue beyond the three-month timeline for the pilot.