Crosswinds Counseling and Wellness is expanding its ability to serve the local area by launching a new Mobile Crisis Response Team.
Crosswinds announced the team’s launch Friday morning saying the team’s primary focus will be to provide “effective and timely care” during “serious situations” no matter where individuals may be. The team will seek to reduce the chances of recidivism and emergency room visits, connect individuals to crucial services and resources and work to de-escalate situations and eliminate the need for “intensive out-of-community treatment.”
Crosswinds says the team will be called upon to intervene in scenarios in which an individual’s mental health struggles lead to any of the following:
*Immediate danger to themselves or others.
*A loss of contact with reality such as psychotic or manic episodes.
*Property damage or other potential criminal actions
*Chronic failure to care for oneself to the point of health risk or death.
The team will not be called upon for any non-emergency situations that would require medical professional or law enforcement intervention such as incidents of domestic violence, defiant or non-compliant behavior by youth, a need for transportation not related to a mental health crisis, standard medical issues or if an individual “is purely homicidal unrelated to psychosis.”
In a recent news release, Crosswinds Intake and Emergency Services Manager Jade Brake says, “This team is going to play a big role in providing our services wherever care is needed. By providing on-the-ground support for individuals experiencing mental health crises, we’re going to intervene early, prevent escalation, and ensure they receive the best possible care they can.”
Residents needing the team’s services can reach them between 8 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday by calling 620-343-2211. For “after-hours support” residents are asked to call the Crosswinds 24-hour emergency line at 620-343-2626.
Additional information is available online at CrosswindsKS.org.
