City of New Orleans Launches Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit

NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today announced the launch of the New Orleans Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit (MCIU), a team of trained mental health professionals who will respond to mental health emergencies in the city.

Services for this new program will be provided by Resources for Human Development (RHD), a national nonprofit service provider who will supply trained health professionals to effectively de-escalate situations when needed and/or connect individuals with the resource available to find help. This first-of-its-kind mental health crisis response program will be integrated into the Orleans Parish Communication District’s (OPCD) 9-1-1 system and operate as the fourth arm of the city’s first responder system to provide a rapid response to behavioral health calls where weapons or violence are not involved.

“Addressing public safety as a matter of public health means addressing the root causes, which often times includes mental health,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “Improving the safety and well-being of our city through a holistic lens includes aiding some of our most vulnerable residents who are experiencing behavioral crises, while also supporting our police force so they may respond to other incidents more rapidly. The end result will be a multidisciplinary team well-equipped to handle these complex circumstances and a more efficient system of care. This is just another example of my administration’s commitment to improving the health and safety of our communities – through innovative, valid and proven programs that enhance and strengthen our response to mental health and public safety.”

 The MCIU is part of the New Orleans Health Department’s (NOHD) efforts to improve the mental health system in New Orleans and reduce the reliance on law enforcement and emergency rooms for mental health care. The MCIU will work in collaboration with other agencies and organizations, such as the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to ensure a coordinated and holistic response to mental health emergencies.

“Until now, the only agency able to respond to nonviolent, behavioral health interventions has been law enforcement, who have limited training in mental health and restricted options for how to handle calls,” said NOHD Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno. “Providing an appropriate and patient-centered response to individuals in acute need will improve outcomes and the system as a whole.”

The New Orleans MCIU is available to respond to non-violent behavioral health crisis calls 24/7.

• OPCD will triage incoming calls identified as behavioral health or social needs calls to one of RHD’s crisis workers
• Those crisis workers will use their clinical judgment to resolve the call by phone or dispatch a New Orleans MCIU team to the scene
• The New Orleans MCIU team will arrive on-site in identifiable, wheelchair-accessible vans appropriate for patient transport to an appropriate care-level location if needed and support the individual in managing their crisis

The response will be targeted to individuals in need and include immediate crisis management with individuals with mental illness, verbal de-escalation and connecting them to treatment. The New Orleans MCIU staff are civilian behavioral health professionals with experience and training in crisis intervention. The goal is to resolve appropriate crises without the need for law enforcement and with a direct connection to supportive resources. The addition of this team allows other first responders to focus on responding to calls within their professional scope.

“Here at OPCD, our mission is to get the right people, to the right place, at the right time; better than anyone else in the world,” said OPCD Executive Director and Violent Crime Reduction Taskforce Chair Tyrell Morris. “In evaluating incidents, national trends, science and community feedback, we knew we needed to really find the right people. It has been made clear that, in many cases, the right people during a mental health crisis are licensed professionals and not law enforcement officers. This new program and resource will not only provide us with more tools to respond to emergencies on the ground but also free those valuable resources in our law enforcement agencies who can continue to focus on the reduction of violent crime. We are a proud partner in the project and look forward to seeing our most vulnerable population truly get the help they deserve.”

“I must thank Mayor Cantrell and Dr. Avegno who are always champions of public safety and public health,” said Interim NOPD Superintendent Michelle Woodfork. “This much-needed partnership and valuable program will contribute to the safety and well-being of the residents of New Orleans. In 2022, NOPD’s Crisis Unit answered 5,229 calls related to mental health; out of those calls, 51 percent of them were voluntary requests for service and/or resulted in the stabilization of the interaction on scene. Those calls can now be diverted to the MCIU. This allows our officers to respond to more calls for service, answer higher-prioritized calls and ultimately bring response times down. This is an absolutely needed tool for the NOPD that will aid our officers to respond in more adequate ways, and I am so excited to work with our partners on this project.”

The New Orleans MCIU’s team is comprised of Mental Health Professionals and Peer Support Specialists, including those with lived experience.

• Responding units are made up of at least one mental healthcare licensed professional and one certified crisis intervention team member
• MCIU will run two units for day and evening shift work and one unit responding overnight

“This cutting-edge service delivery model puts New Orleans on the map for innovating public health initiatives,” said RHD Regional Director Jan Tarantino, LMSW. “Being able to provide mental health crisis services as a first responder will be a major asset in improving mental health outcomes. Creating the fourth branch of the emergency response system in partnership with the City of New Orleans and NOHD is a true win for the citizens of Orleans Parish. RHD is poised and prepared to enhance the existing emergency response system services for citizens needing assistance.”

RHD is a national nonprofit organization specializing in creating innovative, quality services that support people of all abilities. RHD has operated as a service provider in the Greater New Orleans area since 1997. RHD has 160 human service programs nationwide, serving tens of thousands yearly with caring and effective programs addressing intellectual and developmental disabilities, behavioral health, homelessness, addiction recovery and more.

For more information about the New Orleans MCIU, visit nola.gov/health.

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