Behavioral health specialists to respond to nonviolent 911 calls

Whatcom County Health Department’s new alternative response program (ART) will send a behavioral health specialist and public health nurse to specific non-violent 911 calls in Bellingham. A similar program will launch in a couple of months in Whatcom County.

The program, which launched in January 2023, will start with four employees working in pairs, with a goal of seven-day-a-week coverage, according to a January 18 Whatcom County Health Department press release.

Health department spokesperson Marie Duckworth told The Northern Light in an email the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) will launch a similar program later this winter for Whatcom County areas called the co-responder program. Through the program, a behavioral health specialist will ride along with law enforcement when appropriate. Co-responders can also follow up with clients to make sure those in need are connected to services and long-term support.

The ART program will serve people in Bellingham who are in immediate or emergent crisis, which could include substance use, mental health or someone who is unable to care for them - selves in a moment of crisis, according to the press release. It will allow law enforcement and emergency medical services personnel to focus on life-threatening and violent emergencies.

Health department response systems manager Malora Christensen said in a statement that ART fills a gap in the county’s mental health system. It will provide social services expertise to a 911 call when law enforcement is not needed, Christensen said.

“If you call 911 because you see someone wearing shorts, no shoes, and no jacket in the middle of winter, that would be an example of a situation ART would respond to,” Christensen said.

Washington State Healthcare Authority provided $2.2 million as a supplemental budget appropriation that Whatcom County Council accepted in October 2022. Duckworth said the $2.2 million will cover the startup cost. After state operating funds are spent, the city of Bellingham and Whatcom County have each budgeted $259,000 to equally fund the program’s operating costs; for a total of $518,000 for the remainder of 2023. The county’s portion is being funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, a federal Covid-19 stimulus.

State representative Alicia Rule (D-Blaine) helped secure the $2.2 million in the 2023 supplemental budget to support the startup cost of the ART program.

“I know that it’s been a real challenge getting help for people in crisis, and this innovative work that our law enforcement and behavioral health professionals are doing together is a timely and critical piece to keeping everyone in our community safe,” Rule said in a statement. “I was glad to be able to work with my colleagues in Olympia to provide funding for this program.”

Duckworth said $149,000 will go toward purchasing vehicles, nearly $1.5 million for equipment and facility remodeling, and $587,000 for operating expenses for the first six months. The ART portion of the Way Station at 1500 North State Street will be remodeled and improvements will be made to the old crisis triage space at 2023 Division Street.

The city of Bellingham, WhatComm 911 and Compass Health partnered to form ART.

“The ART program is an important component of our community’s coordinated response to people in crisis or in need of support,” said county executive Satpal Sidhu. “It helps our most vulnerable neighbors and their families find a pathway to stability.”