City OKs Mobile Mental Health Services Agreement With Be Well OC

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Laguna Beach City officials opted into a partnership with Be Well Orange County for mobile mental health services Tuesday.

According to the city, the Be Well OC Mobile Response program is expected to ease the load on Laguna Beach Police officers by providing community-based assessment and stabilization of housed and un-housed people who are experiencing mental health crises and substance used challenges.

Councilmembers voted unanimously to approve the two-year agreement during their Tuesday meeting. The mobile response team will begin serving the community in July, according to a city staff report.

The program will cost $839,828 annually and come with an initial $35,556 start-up cost. According to city staff, the pilot program is fully paid for by grant funds for the first two years of operation.

The money would cover two crisis counselors for 12 hours per day, seven days a week, according to the staff report.