LA expands unarmed mental health teams in several Westside communities
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Monday announced the expansion of the city’s CIRCLE program to address homelessness.
CIRCLE, which stands for Crisis and Incident Response through Community Led Engagement, is a 24/7 program that helps free up LAPD officers by sending non-violent 911 mental health calls to mental health and outreach workers.
In the last fiscal year, city officials say more than 14,000 incidents were diverted to CIRCLE, and CIRCLE teams placed hundreds of individuals into interim housing, reconnected individuals back to their families, and into supportive housing placements.
The program has also assisted more than 1,600 individuals with obtaining vital documents such as social security cards and IDs, referred more than 1,000 individuals to mental and behavioral health services, and reversed opioid-related overdoses.
"We are responding to the mental health crisis with solutions that are long-term and sustainable. At the same time, we are freeing up our LAPD officers to fight crime. Our work does not stop here. We will continue working on this important issue and continue to make our city safer," said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass during a news conference announcing the program’s expansion.
The CIRCLE program is expanding its current Venice and Del Rey service area to also cover Oakwood, Mar Vista, Palms, Playa Vista, Playa Del Rey, Westchester, Manchester Square and Dockweiler Beach.
The program also operates in Hollywood, downtown Los Angeles, South LA, Venice, the Harbor Area and the San Fernando Valley. CIRCLE helps provide services to help respond to calls involving unhoused individuals, including loitering, well-being checks, noise disturbances, substance abuse issues and indecent exposure.
The public can access CIRCLE through the non-emergency line at 1-877-275-5273 or 877-ASK-LAPD.