The proposed city budget provides money for the AFD Mobile Crisis Team to expand its working hours

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Anchorage Fire Department’s mobile crisis team operates seven days a week, and Mayor Suzanne LaFrance’s proposed operating budget includes an additional $1.36 million so the service would be available 24 hours a day , what the people in the system say is necessary.

The crisis team pairs a paramedic or fire department paramedic with a licensed mental health professional – who is also an AFD employee – to respond to calls from people experiencing a behavioral crisis.

911 calls go through the fire department’s dispatch center, where dispatchers decide whether a visit from the MCT is an appropriate response.

Supervising clinician Jennifer Pierce said the team can help provide immediate assistance to people in crisis, connect them to ongoing services and provide follow-up visits. In most cases, she said, the team can resolve the crisis without an expensive hospital visit.

“The whole goal of the program is to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and also to reduce the number of people who have to wait in jail for hospitalization, which is a common occurrence,” Pierce said. “And also providing care within the community, which has better success rates.”

According to the Anchorage Fire Department, the MCT has responded to more than 10,000 calls since its launch in mid-July 2021. A total of 89% of those contacted were able to receive help and support within the community, and the MCT was able to get help and support to resolve the crisis; 7.7% were transported to the hospital by the AFD for a higher level of care; and 1.1% were transported by law enforcement.

Pierce said part of that success is the team approach to calls.

“Sometimes the clinician really takes the lead in the beginning, a lot of times, but sometimes we get there and realize, oh, this is more medical in nature,” Pierce said. “You know, I have my paramedic on site to help me provide that support instead of having to call another resource.”

Pierce said the number of calls in the service area – which stretches from Girdwood to Eklutna – is increasing. In 2023, the team had a total of 3,639 calls.

This year alone, the team has responded to 3,569 calls. Pierce said a recent pilot program — which allowed the MCT to respond beyond its 12-hour day shifts (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) — showed a significant number of calls were made overnight.

“I think what’s really important is that we respond every time,” Pierce said, adding that the team responds to both children and adults.

“Any age, any diagnosis, any type of crisis, we really cater to them and help them in the moment.”

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