State funding helps county expand mobile crisis response

Outside of the Crisis Triage Center (CTC) in Las Cruces, Doña Ana County Commission Chair Manuel A. Sanchez announced earlier this month that the state of New Mexico will fund the expansion of mobile crisis response services in the county.

Beginning Dec. 1, those services will be dispatched through 988, the national suicide and crisis lifeline. State funding will support operations through 2024, after which the service will be sustained through Medicaid reimbursement, the county said in a news release.

"Today's announcement is a big movement forward for the residents of Doña Ana County," Sanchez said. "Doña Ana County is proud to be the first in New Mexico to implement all three components of the ideal crisis response system, now giving people in crisis someone to call, someone to come and somewhere to go whenever help is needed."

“This model aims to get the right help at the right time,” county Health and Human Services Department Director Jamie Michael told the Bulletin. “If someone asks for help when calling 988 it is a peer and a clinician who come to you, not law enforcement or EMS. This reduces stress and stigma, so I hope people are more likely to ask for help.”

"I think it is just fabulous that the first full Crisis Now Model in New Mexico is in Las Cruces," said Dr. Neal Bowen, director of the Behavioral Services Division of the New Mexico Department of Health. Bowen participated in the county’s announcement via Zoom.

“You are so well prepared and so well positioned to deliver in an exemplary way and a way that is going to be a great model for everyone across the state of New Mexico,” Bowen said. “The significance of the mobile crisis response system lies in the years of groundwork that has been laid by stakeholders across the state. This is the model that people have been asking for and they will make the best use of when needing crisis care. This will also lower the overall system cost of responding to behavioral health crisis."

"In the last 50 years, we have operated under a 911 system for emergencies by sending the police, fire or EMS, even when it is related to a mental health or substance abuse crisis," said Paul Galdys, deputy CEO of Recovery Innovations International (RI), the Arizona-based nonprofit that operates CTC under a contract with the county.

"Through 988 or the statewide Crisis and Access line, someone can speak with you and talk you through some of the situations. 90 percent of issues can be resolved over the phone through the support without the presence of law enforcement, which often can lead to booking and incarceration," Galdys said. 

Creating a system that was Medicaid reimbursable was a critical component to making this system sustainable statewide, the county said in the news release.

“What the county is doing is transforming the way we respond to people experiencing a behavioral health emergency,” the news release said. “This system will provide critical care and fill a void in how mental health services have been historically provided while also preserving law enforcement resources for public safety and medical emergencies.”

It is important to note that the mobile crisis response service does not replace 911, the county said. Instead, county residents can now call 988 and receive support during a mental health or substance use crisis.

CTC is available for walk-ins 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the county said.

Visit https://988nm.org.