People of all ages and backgrounds in Nevada County facing a behavioral health or emotional crisis now have access to professional services wherever they are, day or night. 

After months of preparation, Nevada County has launched a new 24/7 Mobile Crisis Team staffed with crisis specialists to meet a California mandate and growing national movement for a compassionate, dignified and effective approach to behavioral crisis. 

Any county resident can call for help with an emotional struggle or substance abuse at (530) 265-5811. The line has been open since the service launched Dec. 31. 

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“We want people to know that they can receive crisis support, in person, where they are located, with people who are specifically trained to provide that intervention,” said Cari Yardley, Program Manager, Adult System of Care for Nevada County Behavioral Health (NCBH).  

The new team launched by NCBH is independent of and will complement an existing law enforcement Mobile Crisis Team, in place since 2020 and established by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. The addition of the new Behavioral Health team helps bridge gaps, provide services around the clock for people in crisis and provides a non-law enforcement option.   

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With the addition of the new 24/7 Mobile Crisis Team available throughout the county, the goal is that more people will receive the crisis support they need for stabilization and long-term wellness. 

“We will continue our partnership with Behavioral Health in 2024 as they roll out their new, independent Behavioral Health Mobile Crisis Team. Through these last few years, we’ve seen first-hand how having both a Sheriff’s deputy and behavioral health clinician available to respond to services together has been instrumental in decreasing arrests, de-escalating situations and increasing access to recovery services and prevention support,” said Sheriff Shannan Moon, who clarified their own co-responder Mobile Crisis Team remains in effect. 

The California Department of Health Care Services has required that all 58 counties and their behavioral health systems in California expand their crisis services to provide community-based mobile crisis intervention services 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.  

These services are now provided as a Medi-Cal benefit. While these services are currently Medi-Cal funded, they are available to anyone in Nevada County regardless of Medi-Cal eligibility.  

“This was a big project for our county. Sierra Mental Wellness Group and Nevada County Behavioral Health worked incredibly hard to make this happen,” said Yardley. 

How it works  

California is implementing the Medi-Cal Mobile Crisis Services benefit to provide de-escalation and relief to individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis wherever they are, whether at home, work, school or on the street. 

The new Mobile Crisis Team is staffed by two behavioral health professionals who are trained to respond to callers who may be struggling emotionally or with substance use. Calls are routed through the Crisis Triage Line at (530) 265-5811.  

The dispatch process will be independent of 911 dispatch, but there are measures in place for requesting law enforcement support if needed.  

Through safety planning and follow-up contact, the team provides immediate support and connection to stabilizing services, if needed. The Mobile Crisis Team is free of charge and available to all individuals within Nevada County who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis. 

“There is a stigma around mental health that prevents people from seeking help when needed. The Mobile Crisis Team will bring help to you and support you in getting connected to stabilizing services,” said Yardley. 

If people are experiencing a Behavioral health crisis that is not an immediate threat to their own safety or that of the public, or unable to access or utilize food, clothing, or shelter due to severe or debilitating mental illness, and they are unable to participate in the development of a plan to keep themselves or others safe, the Mobile Crisis Team will assess if additional psychiatric care is needed.  

“We want to be able to reach out and provide service in the best and safest way,” said Todd Arvidson, General Manager Crisis Services for Sierra Mental Wellness Group.  

Nevada County Behavioral Health contracts with Sierra Mental Wellness Group (SMWG) to provide crisis services in the county. For more than a decade, SMWG has provided crisis services in Nevada County and operates the Crisis Stabilization Unit at the hospital. Since 2020, SMWG has partnered with the Sheriff’s Office and Nevada County to develop and provide crisis specialists for the Sheriff’s Office co-responder crisis team.  

Building on successes  

“Nevada County Behavioral Health has been a good partner of the Sheriff’s Office and has assisted us in contracting with Sierra Wellness Group for clinicians which has led to the joint success of our Mobile Crisis Team,” said Sheriff Shannan Moon.  

In 2020, Sheriff Moon launched the first Mobile Crisis Team in Nevada County after touring other agencies in the state. The Sheriff’s Office is proud of its success rate responding to mental health calls with two mobile crisis co-response teams consisting of one deputy sheriff and one behavioral health clinician per team between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.  

After 7 p.m. sheriff deputies on duty continue to respond to all calls for service, including crisis and mental health calls. The bulk of all mental health-related calls are resolved onsite with no immediate medical or clinical support needed.  

However, when urgent mental health services are warranted, individuals are transported to the hospital or Behavioral Health’s Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) to receive services.  

The overwhelming majority of all calls in 2023 were resolved on scene (313, or 68% of the calls) with only 10 calls ending with a transport to jail, according to statistics from the Sheriff’s Office.  

For calendar year 2023, the Sheriff’s Mobile Crisis Team responded to 460 calls for service, the most common of which were welfare checks (46.4% of calls), followed by de-escalation (27.8% of calls). A total of 385 unique individuals were served, with 530 services provided and 346 referrals for treatment.  

The Sheriff’s Office remains committed to offering its Mobile Crisis Team in unison with Behavioral Health’s Mobile Crisis Team and will continue to respond to 911 calls for service, resolve incidents onsite, transport people to the appropriate services, or refer them to resources in the community.  

With the addition of the new 24/7 Mobile Crisis Team available throughout the county, the goal is that more people will receive the crisis support they need for stabilization and long-term wellness. 

“Our goal is to provide effective and compassionate crisis services to Nevada County residents,” said Yardley. “There’s no shame in needing help. You don’t have to suffer alone.”  

Freelance Writer Laura Petersen contributed to this report, part of a series of articles she has produced on behalf of Nevada County. She can be reached at laurapetersenmedia@gmail.com.