Community-led crisis team for mental health and substance use issues coming to Kamloops

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops will soon receive a new community-led crisis response team for residents experiencing a mental-health or substance-use crisis.

In a news release issued Friday (July 7) morning, the B.C. government says it and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) will bring a new Peer Assisted Care Team (PACT) to Kamloops. A specific timeline was not provided.

The province says PACTs are mobile community-led crisis teams trained to de-escalate mental-health crisis situations and provide trauma informed and culturally safe supports. PACTs are made up of peers with lived experienced and mental-health professionals who will serve residents aged 13 years and older by meeting them where they are, providing person-centred care and connecting them to follow-up supports.

In 2022, the province committed $10 million for new and existing PACTs. Between January and May 2023, the province says the existing PACTs on Vancouver’s North Shore, New Westminster and Victoria provided supports to people through more than 700 calls, with minimal police interaction.

“We are hearing from the existing PACT communities that these teams have been a missing option for people in crisis,” Jonny Morris, CMHA BC Division CEO says. “People and their loved ones have reported being relieved that they have an alternative to police to call in times of crisis. We know the impact is felt with every call and PACT’s community-led approach to service has resulted in people being heard and connected, helping to ultimately transform how we approach situations of distress.”

Two other new PACTs will be in the Comox Valley and Prince George. The province says it’s in the process of selecting the remaining four communities for a total of 10 PACTs. Work is also underway to develop Indigenous-led crisis response teams.