Five months after going live, The Mental Health Center Greater Manchester’s Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT) is well on its way to becoming an overwhelming success. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, MCRT’s 14 clinicians and 6 peer recovery coaches field calls from community members experiencing crises. When necessary they don their signature red jackets and are deployed in pairs to help deescalate the situation and, hopefully, divert individual away from emergency rooms to more appropriate resources.

According MCRT Director Jessica LaChance, only 1 or 2 of every 60 contacts results in an emergency room visit. Given that the Mobile Crisis Response Team sees upward of 80 individuals a week, that ratio is no small feat, especially when considering the uncertain nature of each deployment. “You don’t know what you’re walking into,” says MCRT Coordinator Kari Sanborn. “We’ve met people in Dunkin Donuts. We’ve met people in the middle of the road. You just never know.”

Despite the many challenges, however, MCRT’s dynamic mix of team members is one of its strengths. “We have people from all walks of life that just come to together when a call comes in,” says Sanborn. Add to that combination a response time under 20 minutes and a healthy relationship with the Manchester Police Department and you have a robust system of community support.

This coming summer MCRT will be moving into the Manchester Recovery and Treatment Center, located in the Hoitt Furniture building at 267 Wilson Street. The team will join Families in Transition and HOPE for NH Recovery in a coordinated effort to stop substance misuse in the greater Manchester service area[1].

If you or anyone you know is in the midst of a mental health or substance misuse crisis, please call MCRT’s crisis hotline for immediate assistance: (800) 688-3544.

Our master’s level clinicians are available 24/7, 365 days a year. It only takes one call.

[1] The Mobile Crisis Response Team serves the population of NH catchment area VII: Auburn, Bedford, Candia, Goffstown, Hooksett, Londonderry, Manchester, and New Boston