Here’s the data from non-9-1-1 mental health response pilot project in Centretown

The pilot project testing a new 24/7 non-police crisis response team in Ottawa’s Centretown that was launched last summer has released the data of the first 11 weeks to assess its efficiency and improve service.

The Alternate Neighbourhood Crisis Response (ANCHOR) program began Aug. 15, 2024. The data is from Aug. 15, 2024 - Oct. 15, 2024. It was announced Thursday by The City of Ottawa Community Safety and Well-Being Office, Centretown Community Health Centre (CCHC), Somerset West Community Health Centre, and Community Navigation of Eastern Ontario.

In the first 11 weeks, 1,310 people called 2-1-1, and 626 of those calls resulted in an ANCHOR Crisis Response Team being dispatched, said CCHC in a news release. Of the remaining calls, 594 were addressed by CNEO/211 Community Navigators and did not require dispatch while 72 were redirected to 9-1-1.

“Even though these numbers represent the beginning, these metrics indicate a clear need for this community-based mental health crisis intervention,” said Vinh Nguyen, manager of social policy research and analytics at the City of Ottawa.

Support was provided in 86.59 per cent of cases, services were declined in 8.41 per cent of cases, support was no longer needed in 3.41 per cent of cases, and 1.59 per cent of callers were rerouted to 9-1-1, reads the release.

ANCHOR Crisis Response Teams handled 92.05 per cent of crisis calls and interactions without police involvement. Of all crisis interactions, 3.53 per cent required ambulance attendance, 7.95 per cent requested police attendance, and 2.83 per cent required a visit to the hospital.

The Ottawa Police Service transferred around 130 calls from 9-1-1, which represents 9.92 per cent of the total calls successfully received by 2-1-1.

“CNEO/211’s community navigators made more than 200 client referrals for additional support and resources to various agencies that work in the areas of mental health/substance use disorders, individual/family services, housing, legal/public safety, etc.” said the CCHC.

ANCHOR allows people in Centretown to call 2-1-1 to request a mobile crisis team for themselves or someone else in a mental health or substance use crisis, where a team of crisis response workers responds any time day or night, according to the CCHC.

“The ANCHOR alternate response is a great resource for the people of Centretown. By calling 2-1-1 when experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, they can get connected to the resources they need,” said John Hoyles, executive director, Community Navigation of Eastern Ontario/2-1-1 Eastern Ontario.

The program has been well-received by the Centretown community. Morissa-Dalia Ellis, ANCHOR program manager from Centretown Community Health Centre, told reporters they’ve received a lot of positive feedback from the people who have been helped by ANCHOR teams.

“People have said, ‘I’m very thankful that this team was able to respond because I don’t know what the other response would be.' They really love and appreciate the fact that people are talking them down in a way that is not patronizing,” Ellis said. “They express gratitude and a lot of positive feedback about the team. The patience is something that we’ve heard great things about; the approach, the kindness, and the resourcefulness where people are very aware and thankful that they’re not necessarily left in the dark.”

Ellis added that in the short time ANCHOR has been active, it has become a part of the Centretown community.

“What we’ve really heard from service users, service participants and also bystanders and community members has really just been the ANCHOR team has become very substantial in the community, very much a cornerstone of community that really allows people to receive proper care.”

Ottawa City Council approved the pilot project in 2023 to create a mobile team led by civilian professionals with expertise in mental health and substance use crises to respond to such issues in place of Ottawa police. Centretown was chosen as the first location to test the project. The neighbourhood was chosen because of its high community need, central location, and urban accessibility. The Centretown and Somerset West community health centres are delivering the program.

The 2-1-1 service is provided by Community Navigation of Eastern Ontario.

It is still too soon to say where the program might expand, but Sarah Taylor, acting director for community safety and wellbeing policy and analytics at the City of Ottawa, said those conversations would benefit from the data that has been collected.

“I think we’re all excited to now have data and continue to dive into those conversations about the opportunity more broadly across the city,” said Taylor.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Ted Raymond