LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday approved a motion calling for the citywide expansion of an alternative response program aimed at helping unhoused individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
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Council members voted 14-0 to request Mayor Karen Bass' office to report on a plan to expand the Crisis and Incident Response through Community Lead Engagement program as well as to identify funding sources to do so.
Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez introduced the motion on Oct. 20 backed by Councilman Bob Blumenfield.
The CIRCLE program, led by the mayor's office and established in 2021, provides 24/7 mobile crisis intervention in certain parts of the city.
The program deploys a team of mental health professionals and individuals with lived experience to address nonviolent calls to the Los Angeles Police Department related to unhoused individuals experiencing a crisis.
The program began as a pilot in January 2022, serving areas in Hollywood and Venice. Since then, CIRCLE has expanded and operates in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, South Los Angeles, Venice and other areas of the San Fernando Valley.
On Nov. 1, Bass expanded the program to serve the Sherman Oaks community, along the Ventura Boulevard business area.
The program operates under the mayor's Office of Community Safety, which was created by Bass to prevent crime and violence through community-based strategies that affect the social and economic conditions that drive community harm, according to officials.
The office supports non-punitive safety strategies, including civilian first responders, violence interruption, re-entry services, youth diversion programs and capacity-building programs for non-profit organizations that address community safety.
The CIRCLE program can be accessed by calling the non-emergency police line at 877-275-5273.
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