Cash infusion welcomed as county looks to bolster mental health teams

The nearly $4.5 million, from Measure O sales taxes and county coffers, is going towards Sonoma County's mobile crisis mental health response teams.

photo credit: City of Rohnert Park
Unveiling of the SAFE Team van by elected leaders
from Rohnert Park and Cotati in October 2021.

Mobile crisis teams in Sonoma County will now receive more support after county supervisors recently approved almost $4.5 million dollars in funding.

Mobile crisis teams are first responders who get sent to calls for mental health emergencies.

They are trained to de-escalate situations, often without the presence of police.

Most of the new funding is provided via Measure O, passed by local voters in November of 2020.

It created a one quarter-cent sales tax to help protect and expand essential mental health and homelessness services over 10 years countywide.

Sonoma County also needs to meet a new state mandate. Counties must now provide 24/7 mobile crisis response to Medi-Cal recipients.

The rest of the new funding is coming from the Sonoma County Department of Health Services.

The money will be divided between four mobile crisis teams in Sonoma County.

Those are: the Mobile Support Team, operated by Sonoma County Behavioral Health Division; inRESPONSE Mental Health Support; Community Oriented and Equity, shortened as CORE; and the Specialized Assistance for Everyone Team, commonly referred to as the SAFE Team.

The SAFE Team started in Petaluma in 2021, and they have since expanded to Cotati, Rohnert Park, San Rafael and Sonoma State University.

Aziz Majid is the SAFE Team director.

"It was a response post George Floyd," Majid said. "The youth of Petaluma lobbied city council for an alternate response team and SAFE Team birthed out of that essentially."

The SAFE Team is part of Petaluma People's Services Center, a local nonprofit in Petaluma.

Majid said the SAFE Team has responded to more than 27,000 calls in three years, and that over 2,000 people have been saved from going to jails, hospitals and emergency rooms.

"If someone's reaching out for help or someone's in crisis, they don't need to be met with a police officer," Majid said. "They can be met with someone that's trained specifically in that field that has the time and has the resources to get them the help they need."

"All of our police department partners that we work with recognize that and they appreciate our team," Majid said.

Majid said the SAFE Team responds to about 80% of calls without other departments, and their assistance doesn't end with field support. They can also transport to the hospital, detox centers, meetings and therapy appointments.

"We are first responders and a lot of the calls that are in our scope of work include any call that comes in through 911," Majid said. "That's mental health related, substance use related, homelessness, welfare checks, dispute mediation."

"We can essentially handle almost every type of call you can think of that doesn't involve violence or weapons or anything criminal in progress," Majid said.

Members of the SAFE Team are paid through the cities they are contracted with, and the team is made up of licensed EMT's and crisis intervention specialists.

Right now the cities of Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cotati, Rohnert Park and San Rafael along with Sonoma State University currently provide mobile crisis support. Assistance can be accessed through calling 9-1-1.

More information  about mobile crisis teams can also be found by searching mobile crisis services on the Sonoma County website .