CASA SERENA, CRISIS CARE MOBILE UNITS
PROGRAMS OFFER PATH TO RECOVERY
Imperial County Behavioral Health Services is getting two substantial boosts in efforts to help people experiencing a mental health crisis.
The boosts come in the form of a $5 million grant that will fund implementation of the two-year Casa Serena project and $3 million in funds for the four-year Crisis Care Mobile Units project. The projects are aimed at making mental health and other supportive services available to people experiencing behavioral or emotional emergencies but who do not meet criteria for involuntary holds.
“Casa Serena will provide alternative solutions or services for someone who may be experiencing a psychiatric emergency but who may not meet criteria for (California Welfare and Institutions Code) 5150,” explained Maria Ruiz, deputy director of Behavioral Health’s Mental Health Triage and Engagement Services. Code 5150 allows a person with a mental illness to be involuntarily detained for a 72-hour hold for evaluation and treatment.
Instead, Casa Serena will provide a therapeutic place for people experiencing a behavioral or emotional crisis, acting as a preventative and/or transitional resource and enabling their crisis to de-escalate, said Jessica Pineda, Behavioral Health Manager for the Mental Health Triage and Engagement Services.
Casa Serena will also serve as a step-down option for individuals who no longer meet criteria for involuntarily hold and would benefit form a lower level of care. “They will be provided with interventions and linked to appropriate services,” Ruiz said, “to prevent re-occurrence of crisis events.”
Among the first goals are to educate and inform the community about services, Ruiz said. “We want the community to know that when an individual identifies they might be having a crisis, instead of calling law enforcement, they will reach out to us.” This will allow ICBHS to provide timely interventions to de-escalate the crisis, ensuring the safety of the client and taking the opportunity to teach individuals skills to self-regulate and prevent future incidents.
To be located on the first floor of ICBHS’ facilities at 202 North 8th Street, El Centro, it will offer comfort rooms for each segment of the populations served by Behavioral Health -- adults, young adults, adolescents and children. Rooms will be age appropriate, with sensory
toys for children, comfortable seating, TVs and calming music. Casa Serena will provide services from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Crisis Care Mobile
Units will consist of three response teams that will help make mental health and supportive services more accessible through outreach, engagement, and connections to services and support. Additionally, the mobile units will provide crisis intervention at schools, ICBHS outpatient clinics, and both El Centro Regional Medical Center and Pioneers Memorial Hospital.
“This is a start, a very good start,” Ruiz said. “I’m seeing good results already.”
Both programs will generate new jobs.
Casa Serena and the Crisis Care Mobile Units are direct responses to the increasing number of people experiencing mental health emergencies who come to the attention of local law enforcement agencies, hospital emergency rooms, and the ICBHS Mental Health Triage Unit, often overwhelming these systems. Each program brings increased treatment options and alternatives to involuntary holds, seclusion and restraint for children, adolescents, young adults, and adults experiencing psychiatric emergencies.
Most importantly, Casa Serena and the Crisis Care Mobile Units will enhance the continuum of care for individuals experiencing a crisis by providing the services and support to develop the skills essential to their mental well-being.