Supporting Tenants in a Behavioral Health Crisis in Supportive Housing

Join this informative and interactive session with presenters from the Mobile Crisis Response Team initiative (Telecare and Exodus Recovery) and the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT). They will share information on their programs and how supportive housing providers can best coordinate with these vital community resources.

The Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT) provide in-person support to anyone experiencing mental health, drug, or alcohol-related crises. MCRT dispatches behavioral health experts to emergency calls instead of law enforcement, when appropriate, with teams made up of clinicians, case managers, and peer support specialists. Learn about MCRT services, their experiences responding to behavioral health crises in supportive housing, and how to best coordinate with them if one of your tenants needs help. Presenters will outline how a clinician assesses the situation for risk and safety when you call MCRT, using a series of questions to determine the most appropriate referral.

Wes Albers from the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) will outline key elements of the PERT program. PERT provides emergency assessment and referral for individuals in a behavioral health crisis. Those who come to the attention of law enforcement through phone calls from community members or when in-field law enforcement request emergency assistance. PERT pairs licensed mental health clinicians with uniformed law enforcement officers/deputies. Clinicians also partner with law enforcement homeless outreach teams to provide proactive preventative connections to services.

Presenters will discuss the different elements of each of these programs. When finished Supportive Housing Learning Network (SHLN) participants will have a stronger understanding of these critical resources for supportive housing tenants who may be experiencing a behavioral health crisis. We hope you join the September SHLN Training!

Presenters:

Wes Albers, Community/Law Enforcement Liaison, Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT)

Bre Lane, Program Administrator for Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT), Telecare Corporation

Megan Patrick Thompson, Program Director, Exodus Recovery

Moderators:

Simonne Ruff, Director, CSH

Tricia Tasto-Levien, Vice President of Operations, Wakeland Housing and Development Corporation