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 … Continue reading How to Help Someone in a Behavioral Health Crisis in King County
Mental Health Month: DCHS Makes Getting Routine Mental Health Care Easier for People in King County
May is mental health month, and we want to check in—how is your mental health? It’s been an especially stressful year for many communities that our Department of Community and Human Services serve, including King County’s immigrant, refugee, and LGBTQIA+ communities, people experiencing homelessness, veterans, and people who are low income. Just like getting an annual physical, we all need to prioritize our mental health too, likely more than we do. “Setting … Continue reading Mental Health Month: DCHS Makes Getting Routine Mental Health Care Easier for People in King County
Breaking the Cycle: Connecting People to Mental Health Care After Hospitalization
For too long, communities across King County have faced barriers to getting the behavioral health care they need to support their long-term recovery. At the Department of Community & Human Services (DCHS), we are breaking the cycle through our commitment to following through, connecting people to routine mental health care and recovery supports after they are discharged from treatment in hospitals, inpatient programs, or Crisis Care Centers. New data shows efforts to connect clients of King County’s behavioral health services to outpatient care after a hospitalization are working and setting a national standard for follow-up care. The period after leaving a hospital is a … Continue reading Breaking the Cycle: Connecting People to Mental Health Care After Hospitalization
New Youth Mental Health Urgent Care Now Open in Kirkland
As part of the voter-approved Crisis Care Centers initiative, we are excited to share that youth behavioral health urgent care is now available at our first Crisis Care Center, Connections Kirkland—whether or not you have insurance. The Crisis Care Centers initiative is making sure everyone including children and teens have access to free 24/7 behavioral health crisis services, including: Someone to call: 988 Crisis Line Someone … Continue reading New Youth Mental Health Urgent Care Now Open in Kirkland
Update on King County’s Response to the Opioid Overdose Crisis
King County’s Five Priorities to Stop the Surge of Overdose Deaths were first announced in March 2024 as a coordinated cross-government response to slow the opioid overdose crisis. Over the past two years, we’ve seen a promising overall decline in overdoses in King County; fatal overdoses decreased 32% from 2023 to 2025. Nonetheless, fatal overdoses in 2025 remain elevated compared to before 2022. Working in partnership, the Department of Community and Human … Continue reading Update on King County’s Response to the Opioid Overdose Crisis
New RFP for a Logistics Coordinator to Create a Trusted Leaders Network for the Crisis Care Centers Initiative
A new RFP is now open seeking a Logistics Coordinator to help launch King County’s Trusted Leaders Network, a key part of the Crisis Care Centers initiative’s commitment to community. The Crisis Care Centers Levy is transforming how people access behavioral health crisis care and is centering equity all along the way. The Trusted Leaders Network—and the Logistics Coordinator who supports it—will bring community voices directly … Continue reading New RFP for a Logistics Coordinator to Create a Trusted Leaders Network for the Crisis Care Centers Initiative