King County launched its new Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Teams (MRRCT)1 in December and the expanded program is providing much-needed relief to our communities while we build more crisis care centers for people to go in a mental health, drug or alcohol related crisis. 

Mobile crisis teams are trained mental health workers and peer specialists with lived experience of mental health or substance use challenges. They travel to help people in a crisis where they are. The teams work to calm, stabilize, and solve the crisis in the field and then connect people to supportive services.

“Who better to approach somebody in distress than somebody who has also been in the same kind of situation as the person they are meeting?” stated Allen Nyribo, an MRRCT manager.

Teams are fully staffed with 27 teams working in the field every day. As a result, they are responding faster than ever to individuals experiencing acute mental health crises, such as severe anxiety, suicidal ideation, psychosis, or substance use-related emergencies.  

In 2024, mobile crisis teams conducted 2,576 outreaches. Since the expanded program launched in December 2024, SOUND, one of the county’s MRRCT providers, estimates their teams in North, East and South King County responded to over 400 dispatches with response times averaging around 35 minutes. Calls come in through 988 and referrals from local police departments, first responders and community behavioral health providers. 

SOUND recently released the below video featuring their teams that serve in North, East and South King County. Check it out to meet them and learn more about their work.

You can also watch this video to meet the team from the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) serving in Seattle and Vashon.  And watch this video to meet the team from Crisis Connections, triaging and dispatching mobile crisis teams when calls to 988 or the Regional Crisis Line require an in-person response. 

SOUND’s first call in December was from SeaTac Airport. A French-speaking gentleman arrived disoriented and unable to communicate in English. The team used translation technology and started talking to him. They were able to communicate, identify his needs and transport him in their van to a shelter. 

In another example, the team recently supported a young adult struggling with suicidal thoughts by providing immediate emotional support, safety planning, and connecting them to ongoing mental health care.  Connecting people to services and support after they recover from a crisis is a priority of the Crisis Care Centers Initiative.

In another case, they de-escalated a situation involving a person in public experiencing paranoia, ensuring their safety and linking them to community services.   

“Often what it comes down to is listening, being very careful or carefully listening to hear what they need and then ask them questions,” said Mary Powers, an MRRCT peer specialist. “Our job is person first, so whatever they need is what we respond to.”

“Mental health is a major issue in our community,” shared Officer Sarah Montjoy, Federal Way Police. “Where we fall short, that’s where [mobile crisis teams] can help us. So that partnership is very important, very vital.”  

The teams have been responding to help people experiencing homelessness this winter, whose behavioral health crisis is exacerbated by being outside in the cold. Offering blankets, food, water and other basic needs is making a difference. 

A man who had been out all night was really cold and wet, so one of our mobile crisis teams offered him blankets and time to warm up in their van. He agreed and showed noticeable relief. They made him comfortable, established trust, and connected him to the services he needed. 

While mobile crisis teams are able to resolve most crises they respond to in the field, they are taking those who need a higher level of care to the crisis care center operated by Connections Health Solutions in Kirkland.   

The teams have transported several clients who were experiencing urgent behavioral health crises to Connections Kirkland. As a result, they’ve helped significantly reduce the cost associated with unnecessary emergency department visits for clients, while ensuring they receive timely and appropriate care from behavioral health specialists. 

The airport is another frequent dispatch location where teams have transported clients needing crisis stabilization to Connections Kirkland. Local clients with an urgent need for mental health support often make their way to the airport because they know there are people there who can help them.  

Through the Crisis Care Centers Initiative, King County is building up the regional crisis system, which includes someone to call (988) and someone to respond (mobile crisis teams), while we work to build more crisis care centers for people to go for urgent care and treatment plus a program that offers follow-up support post-crisis.  

How to Connect: Call or Text 9-8-8 or the Regional Crisis Line at 206-461-3222

  • When a person in crisis needs someone to respond but doesn’t need police, Crisis Connections can now dispatch a mobile crisis team to provide in–person help, wherever the person is in King County.    
  • The mobile crisis team is trained to de-escalate, stabilize, and resolve the crisis in the field and then connect people to other supportive services.
  • Anyone 18 years or older can walk into Connections’ Kirkland, the first crisis care center in King County, to get help for a wide range of mental health or substance use challenges. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  1. MRRCT replaced MCT as the state’s required mobile crisis response program in King County. MRRCT was expanded with funding from the Crisis Care Centers Levy and provides 24/7 emergent and urgent crisis response.    ↩︎