The Crisis Response, Community Led team, or CRCL, aims to help those in crisis within the Comox Valley.
“We’re a mobile crisis response team, and community-led, so we like to take into account the needs of our community and meet those as best as we can. Every CRCL program in the province looks a little different based on its community's needs,” said Robyn Dias, Comox Valley’s CRCL manager.
There are currently six different CRCL programs operating in the province, with funding coming from the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Province of British Columbia and for the Comox Valley team, funding from AVI Health and Community Services. There is also a partnership with the K’ómoks First Nation.
The teams are made up of both professionals in the mental health field and peer support workers who have been in crisis themselves.
“We have people with social work degrees, psychology degrees and we also have an experiential worker that’s paired up with that community crisis responder so that there is someone who has lived experience with mental health challenges,” said Dias.
The program serves anyone in the Comox Valley, ages 13 and up. The calls come from the affected themselves, a family member who recognizes their loved one is not in their normal state, or a concerned community member.
“We get calls that are people who are feeling big feelings of grief or panic or anxiety or just acting in ways that are different or distressing. If a bystander calls for someone or a family member calls because the person isn’t acting like themselves, we get people who are experiencing thoughts of self-harm, people experiencing thoughts of suicide.”
The program had a soft launch in partnership with the K’ómoks First Nation in October. In December of 2024, CRCL opened its lines up to the whole community of the Comox Valley. Since opening to the public, the team has responded to approximately 100 calls for someone in distress or crisis.
Currently, the team operates Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on the weekends from 10:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m..
“We’re hoping to eventually be seven days a week, 12 hours a day service. Our plan is to adjust the hours based on what the needs of the community are,” shared Dias.
The teams vary in experience and age and commit to meeting the needs of the person in crisis where they are.
“We have some [people] who have been in the mental health field for the last 20 years. We also have a large age range in our responders. I think the youngest responder is 27 and the oldest is around 58 or 59. We try to provide as much tailored support as we can.”
The program emphasizes being consent-based, so the person in crisis is ultimately in control of where their care goes from the initial call for help.
“If we get a call to support somebody and we show up and they don’t want our support, we will offer what we can, but we won’t push it. Sometimes at the end of a call people say ‘You know what, I’ve talked through everything I was going to, I’m good and I’m going to carry on with my day’ - our team does lots of safety planning with people, to make sure to keep them safe throughout the rest of the day,” explained Dias. “If they need a referral, we get their permission and then we can send it to our community partners. We can also transport people.”
CRCL works closely with all the local nonprofits of the Comox Valley and wants to help support each other as much as they can to make sure the person in crisis gets the help they need.
“We do offer a follow-up if they want it. We do in the moment immediate crisis response. We do ask if they would like a follow-up call within 24 hours or 48 hours and just do a check-in. Sometimes we see someone at 10:30 in the morning and by 5 p.m. they are struggling again. We come as much as the person needs.”
While the youngest age the program supports is 13, parents who may be experiencing a mental health issue due to their children being in crisis.
“We’ll support you if you’re a parent of a five-year-old, because if they are in crisis, you probably are too. We can help support the parent and stay there and listen and share resources that we might know of.”
The team members feel safe in their work, as 99 per cent of their calls have not had to have police intervention.
“The beauty of this program is that the pairing of the teams means that you have a person who can say, ‘Oh, I remember learning about this in school’ and can apply what they have learned. That’s helpful and lets us support the person through it. Then you have another person with them saying, ‘I’ve been there and it’s really hard, I’m really sorry you are going through this,’ and it develops an extra layer of understanding and compassion,” said Dias.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can contact CRCL by calling or texting 250-681-4878.
