As the Examiner reported yesterday, member of the city's Mental Health Board are considering deploying a fleet of mobile wellness vans around San Francisco to better meet the needs of those struggling with mental illness.
Proponents say mobile mental health staff could reduce demand for psychiatric hospital beds, assuage residents who complain about quality of life issues, decrease calls to 911 and expand services to parts of San Francisco that are far from clinics.
The idea was initially proposed late last year, leading to the creation of the Wellness Van Committee, which met three times over the past three months.
Each county in the state has its own mental health board to administer funds and coordinate programs. In addition to overseeing local psychiatric services, SFMHB also staffs a Homeless Outreach Team and a Behavioral Health mobile crisis unit, both funded by the City.
Board member David Elliott Lewis, who chairs the Wellness Van Committee, said the purview of five fully-staffed mobile mental health vans would be different.
Beginning July 1, the vans would reportedly operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week with funding from the Department of Public Health. Van staff wouldn’t target homeless individuals, but rather “anyone who needs to connect with another human being,” Lewis was quoted as saying.
The idea reportedly has the support of Supervisor Katy Tang, who said that because there aren’t many service providers located in the the outer reaches of the city, mobile health services vans would be a welcomed, cost-effective solution.
Whereas the cost of the mobile wellness services fleet is still unknown, the Wellness Van Committee is working to draft a resolution and will hold another meeting later this month to discuss next steps.
