Anne Arundel County is expanding mental health services for its residents.
On Wednesday County Executive Steve Schuh signed into law a funding proposal that will pay for Mental Health Agency Mobile Crisis Response Teams.
The teams are designed to respond primarily to calls from police. From there, county staff is dispatched to assist in stabilizing the individual and connect them to the most appropriate services.
“The fight for improved mental health services is critical because mental health disorders are a precurser to so many other pathologies that plague our county, our state and our country,” said Schuh. “Addiction, homelessness, suicide and violent crime are often begun and set in motion by mental health problems.”
$470,000 will fund the two new teams. One team will help support the county's safe stations program, where any resident who is the victim of a heroin or opioid addiction can go to any Anne Arundel County or Annapolis City Fire Station and get connected to services. The second will be assigned to the Anne Arundel County Public School System and will help provide emergency mental health services to students.
“These new teams will be crucial as we expand mental health services to Anne Arundel County residents,” said Adrienne Mickler, Executive Director of the Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency.
The agency serves the entire County on a 24/7/365 basis. During 2017, the crisis response teams were dispatched 1,912 times.
