New Community-Led Supports For People In Crisis In Comox Valley

People experiencing a mental-health or substance-use crisis in the Comox Valley have new access to more services to help them stabilize and connect to the support they need.

“This service in the Comox Valley is helping people in crisis get timely, compassionate support from those who truly understand their experience,” said Josie Osborne, Minister of Health.

“By combining clinical expertise with the knowledge of people who have lived through similar challenges, this community-led approach offers a more empathetic and effective response that can make a real difference in someone’s path to recovery.”

Crisis Response, Community-Led (CRCL, pronounced “circle”), formerly known as Peer Assisted Care Teams, is a mobile, community-led crisis service that serves people 13 and older experiencing a mental-health or substance-use crisis, which might include thoughts of suicide or self-harm, feelings of grief, panic or anxiety, and/or acting or feeling in ways that are distressing.

The CRCL team helps de-escalate the situation, ensures and plans for the safety of the person in crisis, and connects them to services to support their long-term needs.

This service also helps free up policing resources to focus on crime and prevents demand on hospital emergency departments by supporting people in the community.

The Comox Valley CRCL is operated by AVI Health and Community Services in partnership with K’ómoks First Nation, with oversight and support from the Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division.

The service soft-launched in October, focusing on providing care to the K’ómoks First Nation.

In December, it expanded to serve people in Cumberland, Courtenay and Comox.

Since the service launched, more than 100 people have been supported.

In addition to the Comox Valley service, there are four CRCLs in operation in Victoria, North and West Vancouver, New Westminster and Prince George.

The team is made up of responders with a combination of mental-health professionals and people with lived experience who are trained in providing trauma-informed, culturally safe crisis support.

Nicole Rempel, Elected Chief Councillor, K’ómoks First Nation, says communities are grieving and asking for help, but are met with silence, delay or criminalization.

The CRCL program, Rempel says, is a step toward something different: a trauma-informed, culturally safe approach that recognizes the strength and wisdom that already exists.

“We are not just piloting a program, we are decolonizing a system that has failed our people. This is how we reclaim care: by building something our communities can trust, and that other Nations can build upon too. This is not just a pilot, it’s a path forward.”

To learn more, visit Government of British Columbia.