Crisis Response

Crisis Solutions Center

Crisis Solutions Center building on opening day, with balloons on a sign

The Crisis Solutions Center (CSC) is a resource for police, medics, crisis mental health professionals and other first responders when they meet individuals in crisis who might otherwise receive no help, or be taken to jail, an emergency room or a psychiatric hospital inpatient unit. Opened in 2012, the CSC helps reduce chronic homelessness and overall admissions and unnecessary involvement in the judicial and emergency medical systems. 

When a person in crisis arrives at the CSC, a multidisciplinary team composed of mental health professionals, peer specialists, behavioral health case managers, substance use professionals, and medical staff help stabilize them, in a voluntary short-term inpatient setting. They also immediately work to refer participants to long-term services and possibly housing, tailored to each person’s needs. 

The Crisis Solutions Center has two components.

  • The Crisis Diversion Facility (CDF) accepts individuals in behavioral crisis who are referred by first responders and emergency departments in King County. Clients stay in this program for up to 72 hours, and receive various kinds of stabilization services, monitoring and referrals to outside resources.
  • Crisis Diversion Interim Services (CDIS) is a “step-down” program which admits clients referred directly from the (CDF) 72-hour program who are experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness. Clients may stay up to 14 days and have access to more long-term supports.

Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team (MRRCT):

Standalone from CSC but closely partnered is the Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team (MRRCT). This is a county-funded program responsible for addressing the imminent and emergent needs of community members in crisis, in the central region of King County primarily covering the entirety of Seattle. The DESC team has been providing mobile crisis response services to the community for well over a decade.

MRRCT consists of mobile teams of peer counselors and behavioral health professionals, dedicated to de-escalating situations and connecting individuals dealing with mental health and substance use crises to long-term care.

There are two adult MRRCT providers in King County: DESC’s covers Seattle and Vashon Island, and Sound Behavioral Health covers the rest of the county.

Referral Sources

The Crisis Diversion Facility and MRRCT only accept eligible individuals in behavioral crisis who are referred by the following programs:

Crisis Respite Program

Working in partnership with Harborview Medical Center, King County Mental Health Court and hospitals across the county, the Crisis Respite Program is a vital buffer between psychiatric emergency care and life back on the streets. Without this program, people would have little choice but to return to the streets, where they would most likely repeat a cycle of using costly public services like emergency rooms, jails, sobering centers and courts.

Located at a separate site, the CRP includes 20 beds (14 for men, six for women) and specialized staffing 24/7. This program can provide:

  • Short-term, intensive case management
  • Referrals to other community resources
  • Medication monitoring
  • Access to primary health care
  • VAT/VISPDAT assessments to help start the housing process