Province grants South Simcoe police $118K to aid crisis response

The province is investing in police partners to engage with sensitive situations.

York—Simcoe MPP Caroline Mulroney visited the South Simcoe Police Service to announce $117,865 in funding through the Mobile Crisis Response Team Enhancement (MCRT) grant at the South Division station at 81 Melbourne Dr. in Bradford Oct. 27.

The funding will help the service’s partners to ensure trained crisis workers are available more often for the Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST), in which they work with specially trained, plainclothes police officers to respond to crisis calls where mental health or addictions may be a factor, and can provide referrals to hospitals or community programs as an alternative to apprehension.

“Each and every day front-line police officers across the province are challenged by serious interactions with members of the public facing mental health and addictions emergencies,” Caroline Mulroney MPP for York—Simcoe said in a press release. “Our province is committed to providing our police with the resources they need to keep Ontarians safe.”

She said the additional funding from the grant will help ensure residents receive the correct support during their most vulnerable moments.

“This grant will help us meet the growing need to assist people in crisis in our communities,” Chief John Van Dyke said in the release. “Working together to de-escalate situations and provide mental health support, this program is essential to help persons in crisis navigate support systems in our communities. We are grateful to be included in the recipients of this funding, which will enhance the crucial role of COAST.”

COAST has been challenged to meet the needs of the community, with many crisis calls being handled by front-line officers instead.

During past police services board meetings, Deputy Chief Sheryl Sutton had explained that the issue came down to timing, with many calls coming in at times when crisis workers weren’t available, and gave examples such as 11 p.m., 1 a.m., 3 a.m. and on weekends.

Earlier this week, Sutton noted the service has been approved for the grant, but couldn’t disclose the dollar value at that time.

In 2023-24, the Ontario government is allocating more than $4.5 million to 39 municipal and First Nations police services, as well as Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), to help strengthen mobile crisis response teams across the province.