Thursday marked the launch of Ottawa’s first alternate response line for those in crisis. For situations that may not require a call to 911, people in Centretown can call 211 to reach an Alternate Neighborhood Crisis Response (ANCHOR) dispatcher.
The pilot project began early planning in 2021 to examine options beyond police services for those in mental health or substance use crises. Organizers say people can call the line at any time to reach a mental health professional or outreach worker.
Centretown Community Health Centre executive director Michelle Hurtubise said she’s heard from people who don’t know who to call in a crisis.
The program is something Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster said has “been a long time coming.”
“The original idea for an alternative crisis response service really came out of the community, specifically following the death of Abdirahman Abdi in 2016 following an altercation with police,” she said.
Sahada Alolo, guiding council member for the project, agreed and brought up the case of Greg Ritchie, who died after being shot by police in 2019.
“When you and I are sick and we have an emergency, we expect that we will receive treatments from the hands of medical professionals who are trained to deal with our emergency situations,” said Alolo.
“But when someone is in crisis as a result of mental health, we get the police, right? And so the community asks for us to do better.”
Who can call and when?
Hurtubise said the crisis line — which is available only to people age 16 and up — is not for urgent situations or medical emergencies.
In a press conference announcing the launch on Thursday, she cited two examples of people an ANCHOR dispatcher could help: individuals in distress or “making threats” in a public space, and parents of children experiencing thoughts of suicide.
The service will be available in Centretown and Centretown West, an area bordered by the Ottawa River, the Rideau Canal, Highway 417 and Preston Street.
The ANCHOR website says its team will include individuals with “lived or living experience with mental health or substance abuse” and “racialized” individuals. Hurtubise said longer term follow-ups and connections to supports and resources will be made available as well.
WATCH | Centretown councillor weighs in on the ANCHOR program
Police involvement and de-escalation methods
The ANCHOR team will focus on verbal de-escalation and will not use physical defence measures, said Hurtubise.
“By taking a non-violent approach, we’ve been really successful at being able to de-escalate individuals so there isn’t a threat of physical harm,” she said.
She pointed to a similar crisis line program in Toronto that diverted 78 per cent of mental health and substance use calls from 911. She said only four per cent of those responses ended with a request for police or emergency support.
The ANCHOR website says the program is completely independent of city police but the two services may intersect through “call triaging and community response.”
The pilot project is set to trial for three years. Troster said she hopes eventually to see the resource made available across Ottawa.