WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Residents in Winston-Salem can now get used to seeing a new vehicle if they call 911 for a mental health or substance use crisis.
It has the letters 'B.E.A.R.' on it and is driven by crisis counselors.
It's called the Behavioral Evaluation and Response Team and they started responding to calls Monday. News 2 spoke with the team to get a feel for what the community can expect.
"We're really excited," said BEAR team director, Kristin Ryan.
200 to 300 calls are roughly how many mental health-related calls a month BEAR team director Kristin Ryan said operators receive.
"And that’s just categories of that initial call. Sometimes law enforcement may go out to a call and they may identify that later that there’s that need," said Ryan.
The city figured law enforcement could use a little help with those calls so they created a team of 6 crisis counselors that dispatch when someone with a mental health crisis is in need.
"Just another layer to help the city of Winston Salem," said crisis counselor William Hollis.
After months of training, the BEAR team is now ready to respond to calls.
"I’ve always been particularly wanting to be a part of the community and be able to serve people," said Hollis.
Hollis is one of the crisis counselors. "I have had family members that had substance abuse problems as well and coming from my community I just want to see if I can serve my community," said Hollis.
With a background in sociology and psychology, he knows first-hand how beneficial a team like this would be for the community.
"And that’s what we will provide, resources that they can reach out to," said Hollis.
"It is time for Winston Salem to take the next step in serving the citizens with mental health needs," said Ryan.
This is just the beginning for the BEAR team. Director Kristen Ryan hopes they will expand the team to even more crisis counselors in the future.