Baltimore is awarding $1.5 million to a local crisis center to expand their capacity for responding to behavioral health crises.
Mayor Brandon Scott on Monday announced that the city had allocated $1.5 million to Baltimore Crisis Response Inc. (BCRI) so that the nonprofit can better serve residents experiencing behavioral health crises.
“BCRI has been an incredible partner in our efforts to transform how we respond to residents’ mental health needs by ensuring that those experiencing behavioral health crises receive appropriate support from trained professionals,” Scott said in a statement. “I am proud to announce that we will continue to fund the vital work being done by BCRI throughout our city as we build out a comprehensive behavioral health ecosystem that best serves those in need of such supports.”
The funds will help increase resources for BCRI’s regional behavioral health call center, substance abuse programs, and community outreach.
BCRI was founded in 1992 to assist individuals experiencing mental health and substance use disorders.
The center runs a 24-hour hotline at 410-433-5175, which residents can call if they or someone they know is in crisis.
During Fiscal Year 2021, hotline staff answered more than 55,000 calls, including more than 3,700 from callers who expressed suicidal thoughts – a 30% increase from Fiscal Year 2020, according to the center’s website.
The center’s mobile crisis team responded to more than 1,900 calls out in the Baltimore community in Fiscal Year 2021 to meet with clients in crisis.
The center also provides residential substance use services in their detox unit; provides individual rooms at their crisis residential unit to prevent the spread of COVID-19; tests clients onsite for HIV and Hepatitis C; and works with the Baltimore Police Department to divert people from the prison system,
“We know that the crisis system is the first line of defense for individuals and families facing behavioral health emergencies,” BCRI Executive Director Johnathan Davis said in a statement. “As BCRI celebrates its 30 year anniversary, we reflect on our commitment to support our neighbors and envision a more deeply rooted role within the behavioral health system to deepen and widen our impact as we contribute meaningfully to a thriving and caring ecosystem.”
Davis added that the $1.5 million is an investment in BCRI, in Baltimore, and in the center’s vision for “ensuring all have easy access to high quality behavioral health services.”
Crista M. Taylor, president and CEO of Behavioral Health System Baltimore, said in a statement that the investment “reflects a shifting of our values” for Baltimore City.
“It shows that we believe mental health crisis services should be part of our community emergency response alongside fire, police, and hospital services,” Taylor said.
In February 2021, Baltimore City swore in members of its first-ever Trauma Informed Care Task Force.
The creation of that task force was part of the Elijah Cummings Healing City Act, sponsored by Councilmember Zeke Cohen (District 1), who also serves as the task force’s co-chair.
“As the first city in America to have legislated Trauma Informed Care, Baltimore’s commitment to addressing mental health is unparalleled,” Cohen said in a statement. “Our police department needs to focus their full attention on reducing violence. Clinicians, nurses and community members with lived experiences are far better positioned to support people in crisis. By fully funding BCRI, we are building an ecosystem of safety and wellness for our most vulnerable residents.”
