When we see someone experiencing a mental health, drug or alcohol related crisis in public, we want to help and often hear from residents and local businesses asking us who they can call.
With summer and World Cup kicking off this week, we wanted to share some tips for locals to know from a training hosted earlier this month by the Department of Community and Human Services’ Dr. Matt Goldman and Kelly Tongg, LICSW.
Tips to help someone in a crisis:
- Anyone can call or text 988 to help themselves or to help someone else. A local crisis counselor from Crisis Connections will offer immediate support over the phone, assess the situation, determine the appropriate response and send help if needed and requested.
- Put your safety first
- Keep a safe distance. Do not physically intervene.
- If you feel unsafe or the person becomes more agitated, move away.
- Speak calmly and simply. Use a quiet voice and short, clear phrases.
- Ask what they need and ask if they want help — if they say no and are not in danger or putting someone else in danger, they can’t be forced to engage, and it is most helpful to honor their choice and autonomy.
- Offer small, practical help, like a water bottle, snack, or blanket. Meeting basic needs can reduce distress.
- Calling 988 vs. 911
- Call 988 for mental health, drug or alcohol related crises or when you want a crisis counselor to help assess the situation.
- Call 911 for life-threatening emergencies, immediate danger, weapons, unresponsiveness, suspected overdose, traffic hazards or other medical emergencies.
- If you call 988, here’s what to expect:
- Dispatchers will ask for a location, details about the crisis, description of the person, and determine the best response. Potential outcomes include no response needed, a mobile crisis team dispatched, or transfer to 911 for a life-threatening emergency.
- If dispatched, mobile crisis teams will come to the person’s location, arriving in less than 30 minutes on average. They will engage, de-escalate the crisis, and work to connect the person to care. Potential outcomes include resolving the crisis on location, transporting to King County’s Crisis Care Center or Sobering Center, connection to shelter or other supportive services, or the person may refuse the team’s support—services are voluntary.
- If you are calling for a stranger you see in public, you do not need to stay and wait for the team. They will work to find and engage the person in crisis based on the location and description you provide.
“Our mobile crisis teams and their services are newly expanded,” said Kelly Tongg, Business Operations Manager for the CCC Levy. “Every call to 988 and dispatch is unique, and we’re already seeing impressive progress with the teams supporting more than 5,500 outreaches in 2025 and the capacity to help even more people this year.”
Here are a few crisis scenarios, for example, with potential responses:
- Your friend is telling you they’re overwhelmed with life and having thoughts of suicide: Call 988. They will listen and offer compassionate care over the phone. In collaboration with you and your friend, they may recommend sending a mobile crisis team or that you go to a Crisis Care Center to see a provider.
- Someone is shouting or showing erratic behavior in a crosswalk: Keep a distance, call 988. Call 911 if they are in traffic and safety is at risk. Keep in mind, if the person is on the move, they may be hard for a team to locate.
- Person sitting in a park with a visible wound: Offer to call 988. Call 911 for heavy bleeding and/or if the person is unresponsive.
- Intoxicated person causing a disturbance in a business: Call 988. Call 911 if there is violence or immediate danger.
- Person under a blanket and not moving: Check for responsiveness from a safe distance. Call 911 if unresponsive. Call 988 if they are awake but appear in crisis.
“In general, if the person is not harming themself or anyone else, the most helpful action may be to respect their peace and leave them alone. When members of the public try to engage, it can be unwelcome and risk worsening a crisis,” said Dr. Goldman, Crisis System Medical Director for DCHS. “Outreach professionals are specially trained to get to know folks they’re engaging with, build trust over time, and support motivation to voluntarily participate in services long term.”
This How to Assist flyer from Crisis Connections offers more helpful tips for bystanders.
To learn more about how to help someone in a mental health crisis, you can also register for a Free Mental Health First Aid training:
- Mental Health First Aid Training – Valley Cities Behavioral Health Care
- Mental health seminars | NAMI EASTSIDE | Washington State
Crisis services are free and available 24/7 for everyone in King County. Call or text 988 for immediate support or walk into the county’s first Crisis Care Center in Kirkland for urgent care in a mental health or substance use related crisis.
