Interior Health is in the process of putting a crisis response team in place to work closely with Cariboo Chilcotin residents.
People living with mental health and substance use disorders will benefit from the crisis response team.
IH hopes to see the team in place and functioning sometime in February.
Funding for the crisis response team, and an ACT team for Kamloops and Kelowna, was provided jointly by IH and the Ministry of Health with $2 million each.
The ACT teams will include mental health and substance use professionals from various professional backgrounds, working together to provide treatment, rehabilitation and support to individuals who are suffering from severe substance use and mental health challenges.
Different from traditional programs, the ACT team reaches out directly to clients 24 hours per day, seven-days-a-week, making client contact in the community as often as two to three times per day.
The crisis response team is being created to support clients in the Cariboo-Chilcotin geographical region and will consist of two nurses alternating to provide seven-day-a-week coverage and service; they will work closely with mental health and substance use and emergency department staff to support clients requiring intensive treatment and follow-up.
For more information, visit www.interiorhealth.ca.