Crisis Services

Emergency mental health response Services (emhrs): (see schedule o)emhrs provides 24/7 help and support to individuals experiencing a mental health Crisis. Specialized branches of the emhrs department include: (1) the mobile outreach response program: this program's main goal is to divert as many people as possible from unnecessarily presenting to a psychiatric emergency room and diversion from jail by linking clients with proper mental health Services; (2) mobile transitional Services, which provides bridge Services for people recently released from a psychiatric inpatient stay at erie county medical center's comprehensive psychiatric emergency program, offering short-term counseling support until individuals are successfully linked with their outpatient treatment provider; and (3) the Crisis intervention team training project (cit), which offers specialized training for law enforcement to learn how to handle situations with individuals with mental illness, of which Crisis Services is the sole cit provider for erie county. In 2022, 55% of emhrs' mobile outreach clients were seen 1:1 and diverted from hospitalization; 77% of mobile transitional support clients were linked with mental health Services and diverted from hospitalization or arrest; 96% of Crisis intervention team case management cases were diverted from hospital presentation, with 56% linked to treatment.

Crisis counseling program (ccp): (see schedule o)staff who make up our Crisis counseling program (24-hour Crisis hotline: 716-834-3131) are trained Crisis hotline counselors who assist callers 24 hours a day that are in various types of Crisis, need supportive counseling, or looking for resources in erie county. Ccp is the first point of access for callers. Ccp is also the continuum of care after-hours provider for consumers of 13 local mental health and behavioral health agencies in erie county. Ccp also manages the 24-hour kids help line (716-834-1144) in erie county and is the mental health 24-hour hotline provider for chautauqua county. Crisis Services is the network center for all wny calls made to the national Suicide Prevention lifeline. Additionally, the addiction hotline (716-831-7007) is the first voice of assistance for immediate help, education, information, referrals and assistance with linkage to treatment. The addiction hotline is not only for individuals battling addiction but for family members or friends in need of support and guidance with those struggling with addiction. In 2022, ccp first responders answered 78,910 calls to the 24-hour Crisis hotline at 716-834-3131; 83% of those calls were diverted from needing emergency Services via 911.

Advocate program: (see schedule o) Crisis Services' advocate department provides 24/7 confidential response and Crisis intervention for survivors of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, family violence and elder abuse at all erie county emergency departments. Clients can access case management Services, safety planning, supportive counseling, criminal justice advocacy & accompaniment to court proceedings, linkage to nys office of victim Services' compensation, and connection and referrals to community resources. Case managers are co-located at several police departments and college campuses across erie county. Crisis Services' advocates also assist student survivors with on-campus adjudication, providing advocacy, accompaniment, and advisement through their on-campus process. The advocate department includes a sexual assault forensic examiner (safe) program that partners with area hospitals to provide on-site forensic Services to individuals who are 12 years old and older, who have been sexually assaulted within a 96-hour period, and who are seeking help. The advocate department also offers community education, training, and sexual violence Prevention programming. In 2022, 660 survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence were seen by an advocate at an area hospital; Crisis Services' sexual assault nurse examiners, or sanes, administered 149 rape kits to survivors who requested them; 2,925 community members were trained by advocates on sexual violence Prevention and bystander intervention.

Suicide Prevention coalition - development and implementation of the Suicide Prevention coalition of erie county's mission to foster a community of safety and shared responsibility to prevent Suicide.

Suicide fatality review - the Suicide fatality review team collaborates with the Suicide Prevention coalition of erie county and the nys omh Suicide Prevention office/suicide Prevention center of new york. The team is a multidisciplinary group of professionals and community members that meet to evaluate the circumstances leading to and causing suicides in order to improve community systems and to act to prevent Suicide. The team will provide recommendations for the system level interventions to these entities, which can implement changes indicated by the fatality review process. This program ended in 2022.

Emergency mental health planning coordinator - provides mental health support to erie county's emergency Services plan/disaster response efforts.