HAMPTON, Va. — A new effort aims to address mental health needs in the city of Hampton.
The Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board and Hampton Fire & Rescue have formed what they’re calling the C.A.R.E. Team, which stands for Community Assistance Response Team.
“We’re going to pair one of our CSB mobile crisis clinicians with a fire department emergency services personnel," said Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board Marcus Alert Coordinator Connie Vatsa. "They are going to be in a fire department vehicle. They will get dispatched out to mental health calls directly from the Hampton 911 Communications Center.”
Vatsa took News 3 on a tour of the new BJ Roberts Behavioral Health Center in Hampton, one place the people the team responds to can be brought if necessary.
“The C.A.R.E. Team allows us, because there’s no laws enforcement officer on that team, to go out those lower-level calls that don’t require a police officer and are supposed to be a behavioral health-only response. So it allows us to have local resources out to those," Vatsa said.
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Hampton Fire & Rescue Lt. Paul Houde said this is something that’s needed.
“In 2023, our responders responded to over 1,100 calls that involved some type of behavioral emergency. In 2024, we were up to 1,200 some," Houde explained.
He said as of May 22, the team had responded to about two dozen calls since it started May 8. That prevented about a dozen people from having to be taken to an emergency room, he added.
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Jasmine Blow is a mobile crisis clinician with the Community Services Board. News 3 met her and Houde at a Hampton fire station where Blow showed News 3 some items that can be used to help C.A.R.E. team members, herself included, with their responses.
She said there has already been success stories.
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“We have had some instances where I’m really glad that these people have been able to talk to somebody from a mental health standpoint. We’ve been able to do direct referrals to resources, to give out paper resources for places they can call themselves," said Blow. "It’s a great feeling. Honestly, I love to see the impact the program is making.”
The team is being funded by Sentara and the Community Services Board for a year. After that, the team will be evaluated to determine if and how it will continue.
