The newly formed Person in Crisis team, a team of social workers who handle calls involving mental health distress in place of law enforcement, has responded to less than 100 calls since its launch 50 days ago, a city official said during an oversight hearing Thursday night.
Daniele Lyman Torres, the commissioner of the Department of Youth and Human Resources who oversees the program, said during a presentation to the Rochester Police Accountability Board that the program is in its infancy and is limited in the types of calls it responds to.
The team, which falls under the city's Crisis Intervention Services, is staffed by 14 emergency response social workers working in teams of two. The team is available around the clock, but is only staffed by one two-person team during any given shift.