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Mental Health Services & Support:

Pilot Projects Driving Change

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Community Health Integrated Care Team�CHIC

Stephen Turner

Manager – Lambton Emergency Medical Services

stephen.turner@county-lambton.on.ca

www.lambtononline.ca

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The History of CHIC

  • Approached by WOWC in Fall 2023 along with 4 other small urban / rural municipalities
  • Funding was available through the office of the Associate Minister Tibollo - Mental Health & Addictions - for an innovative crisis response team pilot program
  • Met w/ Minister’s aide on Tues. Oct. 3 and were asked to have proposal in by Friday.
  • 3 Ontario programs were approved:
    • Lambton
    • Thunder Bay
    • Simcoe

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www.lambtononline.ca

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The History of CHIC

  • CHIC is modelled after 3 street-level programs
    • Main Street Project – Winnipeg
    • BC-EHS Bike Squad – Vancouver
    • HIV Outreach Team - London
  • Common keys to success
    • Trust
    • Interdisciplinary Cooperation
    • Working at Street Level
    • Consistent Presence
    • Assertive Engagement

www.lambtononline.ca

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CHIC PILOT UPDATES

  • 2-member team is composed of a Lambton EMS paramedic paired with a Bluewater Health substance use navigator, working at street-level
  • Staffed 7 days / week between 10 am and 10 pm.
  • Deployed by foot, bike, or vehicle
  • Supports underhoused and homeless neighbours experiencing mental health and addictions challenges
  • Team went live on June 7, 2024
  • Funded for a 3-year pilot (2024-2027) through the Addictions Recovery Fund Initiative (~$850,000/yr)

www.lambtononline.ca

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CHIC PILOT UPDATES

  • Team has had over 2300 neighbour engagements since inception (average ~6/day)
  • 60% of engagements were to provide wound care
  • Wound care is the foot-in-the-door towards building trust and referral into addiction treatment
  • More than 60% of neighbours needing further care were able to be referred to the Mobile Care Bus or other community-based clinical supports
  • Only 6% of engagements required the need for ambulance transportation to ED

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www.lambtononline.ca

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Neighbour Encounters, Demographics and Treatment

www.lambtononline.ca

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Referrals by Organization and Reason

www.lambtononline.ca

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It Takes a Village…

www.lambtononline.ca

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Recent Advancements and Next Steps

  • Launch of Lifeguard App for people who use substances alone (May 2025)
  • Minister-approved Patient Care Model for Treat-and-Refer where paramedics can refer patients into CHIC care (June 2025)
  • Service-wide rollout of suboxone for withdrawal management (Sept 2, 2025)
  • Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub (upcoming)

www.lambtononline.ca

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Image References

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www.lambtononline.ca

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Questions?

www.lambtononline.ca

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MOBILE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM (MCRT)

A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN OPP MIDDLESEX, STRATHROY CARADOC POLICE AND CMHA THAMES VALLEY

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WHO WE ARE

  • Comprised of two CMHATV Crisis Clinicians and two dedicated MCRT officers.
  • We have one full-time mental health officer in Strathroy-Caradoc and one in Middlesex County (me).
  • The CMHATV Crisis Clinicians rotate between police departments and work Monday to Friday (daytime).

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����OTHER CRISIS TEAMS AND SERVICES

  • Other Teams within the Thames Valley Region: MOST (St. Thomas and Elgin OPP), MHEART (Woodstock Police and Oxford OPP) and COAST (London Police).
  • CMHA also offers individual crisis services:
    • CMHA Crisis Center (648 Huron St. London)
    • Reach Out Crisis Line
    • Internal Crisis Teams (CAT, CRT, Strathroy Crisis Team, Elgin Crisis Team)
    • Tandem Crisis Team (for children and youth, up to the age of 18). Tandem is on site on Crisis Centre Monday-Friday, 2pm-10pm.

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MOBILE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM- REFERRALS AND RESPONDING TO CALLS

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  • The MCRT team will respond to ‘live calls’ with police for service that involve mental health and/or addiction related crisis.
  • Middlesex County OPP, SCPS and CMHATV Clinician will also offer proactive outreach (follow up interactions) to individuals during non-peak call times.
  • Officers and crisis staff respond to crisis calls, de-escalate situations, engaging in care planning, and facilitate appropriate referrals to various social services.
  • MCRT can receive referrals from the following:
    • Front-line road officers who are responding to addiction and/or mental health-related calls-for-service in the community;
    • Community Resource Officers
    • Mental Health / Community Mobilization Officers
    • Emergency Response Teams
    • MST- Middlesex Situation Table

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WHO WE SERVE

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  • MCRT provide services to individuals of all ages (children, youth, adults, seniors) who have contact with police and may be struggling with a mental health and/or addiction issue in Middlesex / Strathroy – Caradoc Policing jurisdiction. We offer different levels of service to individuals based on their level of need and unique situation.
  • MCRT will support individuals living with dementia or other neurological conditions and provide support/resources to the appropriate care providers (Alzheimer's Society, Ontario Health at Home, Geriatric Mental Health and Behavioral Response Team)
  • Recently with the housing crisis and cost of living, MCRT has been supporting more of the homeless population as well.
  • Other calls MCRT would assist with:
    • Attempt/Threat of Suicide
    • Missing/ Lost Persons
    • Family/Domestic Disputes
    • Traumatic Incidents (Sudden Deaths and MVC’s)
    • Individuals experiencing a situational crisis
    • Victims of assaults/serious harm

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BENEFITS OF MCRT

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  • Within minutes we can bring the expertise of Crisis Clinician to the individual experiencing a crisis.
  • Divert individuals in crisis from the ER and refer them to appropriate community resources.
  • Essentially, reducing wait times at ER.
  • Redirect individuals in crisis away from criminal justice system to appropriate resources.
  • Increase the use of MCRT services in future instances before the individual goes into crisis.
  • Reduce repetitive and recurring calls for service from the same individual.
  • Resource for police officers
  • Reduces stigma around mental health/addictions and police.

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LAST FISCAL YEAR

MCRT Statistics April 1st , 2024- March 31st ,2025

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    • Had 1040 contacts last fiscal year (Live Calls for Service and Follow-ups)
    • Out of these, only 10 individuals were apprehended (when MCRT was involved)
    • Out of these, 9 out of 10 (90%) were placed on a Form 1 and admitted to hospital for further assessment.
    • Middlesex MCRT had a hospital diversion rate of 92% when we attended a live call for service.

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QUESTIONS??