Last November, Community Medical Centers launched Stockton’s first-ever mobile crisis intervention response pilot program to aid 911 dispatchers and law enforcement during calls that deal with mental health issues or behavioral health challenges.

CMC is a nonprofit that provides medical, dental and behavioral health care to more than 100,000 patients throughout San Joaquin, Solano and Yolo counties.

At the Sept. 26 meeting of the Stockton City Council, CMC gave an update on the progress they have made, specifically in the last few months.

From April to August, the crisis response team received 1,709 calls for help, with 1,576 coming in from June to August.

At the start of May, CMC only had 123 initial calls with only 10 follow-ups, meaning that either someone called the crisis team back or workers from CMC made contact again with the person who called.

However, in August CMC made progress by having 216 initial calls, and follow-ups jumped to 520.

A chart shows the age and racial makeup of calls coming into Stockton’s mobile crisis intervention unit. A third of the calls came from white patients, while 30 percent of callers were between the ages of 18 and 30. (Community Medical Centers/City of Stockton)

Incoming calls rose 75 percent between May and August and follow-up calls had gone up 61 percent from July to August, according to CMC data.

Stockton Police Department officers have also made use of the program and have been collaborating with it. From June to August, officers represented 17 percent of calls placed to CMC.

CMC said that the Police Department has helped inform them of situations where the service could be helpful to community members and where follow-ups were beneficial to people.

In the summer, a third of incoming calls were from white patients and 30 percent of callers were between the ages of 18 to 30.

At the start of the program, CMC had hopes of eventually having four vans providing services throughout the city around the clock seven days a week.

The service currently is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and as of May they have three mobile units working.

Victoria Franco is a reporter based in Stockton covering San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. She is a Report for America corps member.

Victoria Franco is a Stockton-based reporter covering the diverse news around the Central Valley as part of the Report for America program. As a Stockton native, Franco is proud to cover stories within her community and report a variety of coverage. She is a San Jose State University alumna with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. In her collegiate years she was Managing Editor for the Spartan Daily. From her time at the Spartan Daily she helped lead her staff to California College Media Awards and a General Excellence first place. Victoria encourages readers to email her story tips and ideas at victoria.franco@baycitynews.com.