Integrated Care Model: InResponse
My plan this month was to write an informative blog about the amazing Santa Rosa mental health service called InResponse. While I will write some about that service, I found it even more important to write about the model of care in which InResponse is based. A model of care exemplifies the “best practices” for any given system i.e., a school system, mental health care, community resources, etc. InResponse, which addresses mental health in Santa Rosa, is an integrated care model uniting services from different mental health needs into one support team.
An integrated care model is essential to understand and advocate for, in a world that currently feels very divisive, blame based, and fragmented.
Turning toward an integrated care model feels especially heightened in Santa Rosa recently as we are reeling from a fatal stabbing at a local high school. Our community is still struggling to make sense of the incident and how to move forward with preventative steps. Unfortunately, what I immediately saw in our community was the instinct to blame parts of the overall system. It is common when grief, fear, shock, and outrage are heightened people look to place blame. A more helpful approach is to identify the broken parts of the system and create an integrated support team.
Our community immediately turned toward reinstating School Resource Officers (SRO) on our campuses as the answer and while I agree SRO’s are invaluable in changing a school culture, we must offer even more support. I wonder if it isn’t possible to borrow from the creativity of our very own InResponse program to establish a similar program for the schools. Let me further explain what InResponse offers.
InResponse
Launched in January of 2022, InResponse is a wrap-around crisis support team, staffed with a mental health clinician, a paramedic, and a homeless outreach specialist, who travel by van within Santa Rosa city limits in response to calls from their crisis line or through the Santa Rosa Police Department and the Santa Rosa Fire Department. The staff is trained in de-escalation and social work interventions while also being equip to deal with physical and mental health assessments. InResponse collaborates with local organizations to further connect the individuals they serve with local and appropriate resources. The below is taken directly from the InResponse website describing what types of calls they can and will address.
Types of Calls for Service inRESPONSE will address:
Individuals with suicidal ideations
Sheltered or unsheltered individuals experiencing a mental health crisis
Individuals or families in need of mental health support and resources
Individuals who are intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance
Individuals struggling with mental health stability and in need of emergency shelter resources
Welfare checks (when no crime is suspected)
Requests for non-emergency medical evaluations and transports, including prescription drug refill transport and transportation to medical appointments
If there is any indication of violence or weapons, inRESPONSE would stage while Santa Rosa Police Department officers de-escalate the situation for inRESPONSE to then take over.
I’m so proud to live in a community that understands the value of integrated support as a model of care. I can only hope that we also see this develop in our schools as a way to help support our students, teachers, administrators, and families.