A first look at a program that uses fewer police officers and more social workers when it comes to dealing with people in mental health crisis has earned positive first reviews.
Launched in April 2021, the COAST (acronym for Community Outreach and Support Team) program is a partnership between police, paramedics, St. Joseph’s Health Care and the Canadian Mental Health Association. You can read more about the program here, but the idea is to provide a more care-focused, less policing response to 911 calls about someone in crisis due to mental health or addiction issues.
On Thursday, two researchers from Carleton University presented an initial assessment of how the program works to the London Police Services Board.
Craig Bennell, a professor at Carleton, told council members that the program is showing positive results in a number of critical areas. Top of the list: Fewer mental health crisis calls that require a response from police patrol units, which are already overloaded with emergency calls.
Reduction in the volume of calls to the police
Bennell said COAST typically takes between 100 and 150 customer calls per month. These calls would otherwise have required a response from patrol officers.
“The data shows that COAST reduces the need for frontline policing,” Bennell said. “It seems to lead to a short-lived diversion away from the police.”
Another benefit: Bennell said the COAST program has received mostly positive reviews from customers who have used it. More than 80% said they would use the program again, Bennell said.
Additionally, 33% of customers surveyed said they would have called 911 had COAST members not responded, while 28% said they would have handled the crisis themselves.
Better results for customers
“The results are that it seems to deliver a much better experience and better results for customers,” he told board members. Bennell said many clients felt COAST’s response was more therapy-focused than enforcement-focused, resulting in better outcomes.
And while the first look at the program was generally positive, Bennell said it clearly wasn’t perfect. While this appears to ease the burden on the police, there is no clear evidence that it leads to better treatment for clients who are taken to hospital.
“While COAST appears to have a localized and significant positive effect on clients, it may not have a broader and more widespread impact on how interactions with people in crisis in the community or at the hospital are managed,” the report said.
The site at 648 Huron Street in London is a CMHA building that houses the COAST office, as well as CMHA’s 24/7 Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Centre, teams Crisis Response Teams, Crisis Assessment Teams, our Crisis Stabilization Spaces, Reach Out staff and several clinical practices.
Unable to answer all calls
In addition, COAST members are not always available when needed.
“Our view is that the four member organizations should look at how it should be improved and increased,” Bennell said.
Bennell also reported that it is sometimes difficult to know who is doing what on COAST teams. He said a communication plan for the public and staff of member organizations would help to clarify this point.
The program review also highlighted the need for a clear transfer protocol for officers taking clients to hospital. Often officers are tied down while waiting for clients to be assessed or admitted. This is an offload delay issue similar to that encountered by paramedics.
The report Bennell presented Thursday to the Police Services Board is a simplified version of a much stronger report on the COAST program that will be released on September 29.
Although not identified in Bennell’s report, the COAST program does not have a permanent funding source.
In a statement to CBC News, a police spokesperson said COAST management is “actively engaged with Ontario Health to secure ongoing funding, something we hope to be able to share in the near future.”
So far, each of the partner organizations (St. Joseph’s Health Care, Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley Addiction and Mental Health Services (CMHA), Middlesex-London Paramedic Service (MLPS) and London Police Service) have launched funding to support the program.
It also operates through a grant from the London Community Foundation.
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