Community outreach program in London, Ont., takes proactive steps to support those in mental health crises

A local outreach program in London, Ont., that provides proactive support to people experiencing or at risk of mental health and addiction crises can reduce some of the strain on frontline emergency staff since launching last year, its team members say.

The Community Outreach and Support Team (COAST), is made up of health-care led and police-supported dyads aiming to build relations within the community, while facilitating access to health-care, said Deb Gibson, mental health care director at St. Joseph's Health Care London. 

It's a joint venture between St. Joseph's, Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services (CMHA), Middlesex-London Paramedic Service (MLPS), and London Police Service (LPS).

"By having a proactive response and interacting with the individual where they're at within the community setting, the hope is to de-escalate and engage in problem-solving with the individual so that it avoids an unnecessary hospital visit," Gibson said.

CMHA says from April 2021 to April 2022, COAST had 1,415 interactions and served 713 unique individuals. The calls mainly pertain to mental health symptoms, suicide ideation, relationship problems, addictions, and housing challenges.

Referrals to access COAST's services come through LPS or CMHA. Another one of its goals is to de-escalate interactions between police and distressed individuals while ensuring they get the care and support they need. 

Every service call that comes to COAST involves one police officer paired with a health-care worker, either from St. Joseph's, MLPS, or CMHA, depending on the nature of the call. When attending calls, officers are not in uniform and travel in unmarked cruisers to keep a lower profile. 

LPS officer Danielle Zapfe is a full-time member of COAST, and she finds this role to be a trauma-informed approach for connecting with individuals in order to best support them.

"A big piece for COAST is meeting people where they're at, and part of our subdued attire and minimized use of force is to help people feel comfortable and build that rapport," she said. 

"So really just help them be part of the problem-solving process so figuring out what their strengths are, what they're needing and really help them guide the process for their care." 

Zapfe has found that in her COAST role, interactions with the public have been quite positive because they feel seen and heard, and their desire for privacy is also respected. She believes this program allows police to walk alongside people so they can articulate what their needs are. 

"We don't want to see anything become bigger than it already is, and when someone's in a crisis, it's really important to just slow everything down and be that calm presence for them," she said. 

Inspector Blair Harvey echoes the importance of slowing down because he believes it's not always about coming to a fast solution but more so about taking the time to build relationships with community members. 

Officers assigned to COAST have specialized training that helps them deal with people experiencing mental health crises, and its collaborative nature is really making a difference and reducing police-led responses, Harvey said.