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The Clinician-Led Community Response team has been responding to mental health crises in Indianapolis since 2023. Trained mental health teams respond to crises in the community, helping people avoid emergency room visits and police involvement
WFYI/Katrina ProssA new initiative aims to expand mental health crisis response teams throughout the state.
The Mobile Crisis Accelerator Program is designed to help organizations establish certified mobile crisis teams to respond to mental health calls in communities around Indiana.
The program uses state dollars to provide grant funding, training and technical assistance to eligible organizations.
Jasmine Black, vice president of community health impact at Black Onyx Management, will help lead the program. She said the goal is to ensure people receive the right care.
“Mobile crisis teams reduce the strain on law enforcement and emergency rooms, which also ultimately saves communities lots of dollars while improving the mental health and well being of communities across the state,” Black said.
Eligible organizations can receive up to $1 million in grant funding that can be used to cover staff, training and operational costs.
The program is being offered to government agencies, nonprofits and mental health service providers in Indiana. Priority consideration will be given to organizations in Marion, Lake, Vanderburgh, St. Joseph and Allen counties.
Once completing the program, organizations should have a certified mobile crisis team that can receive referrals from 988 Hotline, Black said.
“We hope that this mobile crisis program … will assist individuals with getting that sort of wraparound support that they need in order to avoid crisis in the first place,” Black said.
Initial applications for the program are being accepted through March.
Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Abriana Herron at aherron@wfyi.org.
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