Winnipeg mayor pushing for fourth emergency service to respond to mental-health calls

Winnipeg’s mayor is pushing forward to create a fourth emergency response service in the city that would respond to mental-health crises.

Mayor Scott Gillingham has long called for a dedicated service that would answer wellness calls and would dispatch trained, trauma-informed responders so that police could focus on violent and property crime, as well as other public-safety issues.

Gillingham is bringing forward a motion to the city’s executive policy committee requesting that his office work with a consulting firm led by a doctor who previously held senior roles with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and the province to develop the Winnipeg Community Crisis Response Service.

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Well-being checks have been the number 1 call for service for city police for at least the past four years, with dispatchers fielding more than 21,000 calls.

Gillingham says the proposal would look at how dedicated crisis responders could work with community partners, health-system supports and the city’s 911 operations.

Some cities across the country have implemented their own services that dispatch mental-health workers and paramedics to calls that don’t pose safety concerns.

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