South Simcoe Police’s Crisis Outreach and Support Team has more support from the community with a new grant from the Innisfil Community Foundation (ICF).
The foundation is continuing its support with a $28,000 grant to allow a crisis staff member to be on the road with a program police officer and an additional day every week.
The Crisis Outreach and Support Team, also known as COAST, is made up of a COAST police officer in plain clothes and a Canadian Mental Health Association crisis worker who respond to crisis calls in the community.
“COAST is a critical resource in our community, assisting our friends and neighbours in need, all while reducing visits to our overburdened hospitals,” says Sandra Rizzardo, chair of the Innisfil Community Foundation’s board of directors.
This is the second year the foundation has supported the program, noting this year the grant is in honour of fallen South Simcoe Police Constables Morgan Russell and Devon Northrup,” a statement read.
“This grant is providing us with the opportunity to continue to expand the COAST program,” said South Simcoe Police Chief John Van Dyke.
“The need to assist people in crisis continues to grow in our communities every day. The grant gives the Crisis Outreach and Support Team more time to provide resources to people in need. With COAST providing appropriate resources, the person in crisis will be diverted from hospital emergency departments.”
The team o works together to de-escalate situations and provide critical mental health support to those in crisis and follow up with those they visit to ensure they have access to needed resources.
“The goal of this specialized team is to provide pre-crisis support and to facilitate referrals to appropriate community service providers, while diverting cases from hospital emergency departments to other care providers,” police said in a statement.