Catalyst Partners with Mansfield PD to Revive Mobile Crisis Teams (Joseph Trolian)

Joe Trolian worked with Catalyst Life Services to bring crisis services into the community.

October 1, 2023

Following the emergence of COVID, the suicide rate around the country began to climb.

According to Executive Director Joseph Trolian of the Richland County Mental Health and

Recovery Services Board, this spike in suicide rates started climbing in 2021 and hit a record high of 31 suicides in Richland County in 2022. As a result, Director Trolian partnered with Catalyst Life Services to develop a full service crisis continuum of care. Joe Trolian accessed state funding for a crisis grant to enhance several of the components of the continuum, but also to establish a few new offerings.

One of the new services is a mobile crisis team. Catalyst Life Services and Mansfield Police Department will begin piloting a team to respond in tandem to individuals that may be having a mental or emotional crisis. The goal will be to de-escalate the situation in the individual's home. If the individual requires transportation to either the crisis stabilization unit or the emergency room, however, this can be done with the behavioral health team to avoid the appearance of criminalizing the person in crisis by transporting in a police car. Trolian is excited to capitalize on the strong relationship between law enforcement and behavioral health that already exists in this community.

Read Full Article: Richland Source