Provincial plans to team up Mounties and Health Care officials praised by Prince Rupert leaders

Local officials in Prince Rupert had praise Monday for a new provincial
program to address mental health and substance use crisis situations  

There was some unanimous resolve and a lot of praise on Monday from local leaders when it came to a new program to be funded by the Provincial government, one created to provide help for those in a mental health or substance abuse crisis.

As we outlined yesterday, the Province named Prince Rupert as one of nine communities that they plan to expand on with 3 Million dollars in funding for a program known as MIRC, Mobile Integrated Crisis Response Teams, the news quickly hailed by civic, Health Care and police officials in the city.

From North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice's Social Media stream

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice led off the salute to the provincial news noting of the need to approach those in crisis with warmth and compassion.

“When someone is in a mental health crisis, they should feel safe with those there to help them, be met with warmth, and compassion. Programs like this recognize that in these situations, mental health professionals should be the people taking the lead, which allows the RCMP to focus on law enforcement. We’ve seen how successful these programs are in other communities throughout the Province and I believe it will better serve our vulnerable people as well as make Prince Rupert a safer place.” -- Jennifer Rice, MLA for the North Coast and B.C.’s Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health. 

Mayor Herb Pond observed of how the program will be a valuable addition to the services available in the community.

“I think the MICR program is terrific and will be extremely valuable to our residents and local RCMP detachment in Prince Rupert. I am grateful the Province recognizes our needs and is putting in the resources to facilitate these types of collaborative partnerships to better serve our community.”

Northern Health's Julia Pemberton noted of the enthusiasm at the Health Authority in working with the RCMP to introduce the program in Prince Rupert.

“These are important partnerships to support people in mental health crisises and connect them with the supports they need. We’re happy to see this program expanding to Prince Rupert and look forward to working with local RCMP on this initiative.”

Sergeant Gerry Walker of the Prince Rupert RCMP at a recent
City Council Session 

For RCMP Detachment Commander Sergeant Gerald Walker, the success of similar programs in other parts of BC is something that the local detachment plans to draw on as they implement it in Prince Rupert.

“The Mobile Integrated Crisis Response Team funding announced today is great news and will provide valuable and needed assistance to first response in Prince Rupert. The Prince Rupert RCMP looks forward to working with Northern Health to establish a service delivery model that provides safety and specialized services to those in crisis. These programs have been very successful in other parts of the Province, and we look to draw on their experiences as we start planning.”

Ms. Rice's announcement can be reviewed here.

The full outline of the program from yesterday can be explored here.

The MIRC program will pair up an RCMP member and a health care professional to attend to crisis intervention situations towards mental health and substance use crisis events.

As we noted in our story from Monday, a tentative timeline towards the introduction of the program has yet to be revealed by the province. 

More notes on the work of Emergency Responders across the Northwest can be explored here.

Northern Health themes from Prince Rupert can be reviewed here.

The latest notes from the Legislature are available to review here.