This grant will pay the salary for an additional, full-time crisis response counselor.
Casa Pacifica’s Safe Alternatives for Treating Youth (SAFTY) program is the only local, mobile response service for children and youth experiencing a mental health crisis, including those at risk of suicide. The number of calls to the hotline has increased since the pandemic.
Having an additional crisis response counselor will help alleviate staff burnout and increase the likelihood that youth in crisis will receive a timely and effective response. In addition to offering emergency services by phone, SAFTY’s crisis counselors can provide in-person intervention as well as ongoing counseling for up to 60 days.
Timely emergency response makes it more likely that youth in crisis will get the treatment they need rather than being hospitalized or involved with law enforcement. SAFTY expects to serve an additional 60 youths of whom 25-30 will receive ongoing counseling.
