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Summary
King County is expanding its youth mobile crisis teams, increasing to nine teams that will travel county-wide, delivering urgent, in-person help to young people and families experiencing a mental health, drug, or alcohol crisis.
Story
Today, King County announced an expansion of the mobile crisis teams available 24/7 to respond to youth mental health and substance use emergencies. The county will add seven mobile response crisis teams, bringing the total available to nine.
Operated by the YMCA, these mobile teams support young people struggling with behavioral health crises, including conflicts at home. Mental health professionals and trained peers intervene and de-escalate crises and connect young people with support and resources.
“When a young person is struggling, families shouldn’t have to navigate a maze of systems to get the help they need," said Executive Shannon Braddock. "This expansion allows for urgent, in-person behavioral health support when youth need it most.”
Last year, crisis teams for youth reached over 1,200 young people and families. This number is expected to grow with additional teams now on the ground.
“This is another step toward achieving a robust crisis response so that everyone, including young people and their families, can connect to the care and support they need,” said Kelly Rider, Director of the King County Department of Community & Human Services. “We know treatment works. We just need more of it, and today we’re making that happen as we expand our youth crisis response teams.”
“Expanding teams across King County will allow our program to continue delivering the compassionate services that we have provided to King County residents,” said Donnie Goodman, Executive Director, Behavioral Health Services, Y Social Impact Center of YMCA of Greater Seattle. “This will ensure we have faster response times and a better understanding of the communities we serve and the services they need.”
King County also recently expanded mobile crisis teams for adults, with 27 teams from the Downtown Emergency Service Center and Sound Behavioral Health available to de-escalate behavioral health crises and connect people to support services.
Anyone can call or text 988 to connect with a youth or adult mobile crisis team. Help is available year-round 24/7, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
To learn more about King County's youth mobile crisis team expansion, read more here or visit this link to watch the video.
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