In the northwest and north central Iowa region, the UnityPoint — Eyerly Ball Mobile Crisis Response Team is available to dispatch 24/7 for any mental health crisis.

The Mobile Crisis Response Team is funded through Central Iowa Community Services and the Care Connections of Northern Iowa Region and serves an 18-county region, including Franklin, Hamilton, Hardin, Boone, Story, Marshall, Jasper, Poweshiek, Warren, Madison, Greene, Wright, Winnebago, Webster, Worth, Hancock, Kossuth and Cerro Gordo counties.

To access the Mobile Crisis Response Team, anyone may call the Crisis Center at 1-855-581-8111.

Samantha Berning, of Fort Dodge, is a social worker and team lead for four of the six crisis teams with this service. She said the MCRT has been serving Webster County since April 2021.

“What’s cool about our program is we don’t define a crisis, so we can respond to anyone in the community that’s facing suicidal ideation, or grieving a loved one, all the way down to just having a bad day at work and wanting someone to talk to,” Berning said.

When someone calls the 1-855-581-8111, they’ll talk to a dispatcher who will try to deescalate the situation over the phone and determine if further help is needed.

“If they decided that an in-person response is better, than that’s when they’ll dispatch our counselors that are scattered around the community to respond to that address,” Berning said. “What our main concern is when we’re out is assessing for safety, so we want to make sure that that individual can remain safe, especially for the next 24 hours, but overall just safe period.”

When a team is sent out, it’s usually two counselors, she said. Their goal is to respond within an hour or less.

“We make sure that we can help them with everything we can, whether it’s giving them resources, talking them down from the situation, talking about different coping skills, some different things that we can do to help them in the moment,” she said.

“If transportation is necessary to ensure client safety, on-call counselors will transport voluntary clients ages 12 and above (with the presence of a parent or guardian for children and dependent adults),” according to the UnityPoint-Eyerly Ball MCRT website.

“At that time, we can help them set up different services that they need in the community, set up therapy for them,” Berning said.

Individuals can call in for other people as well, Berning said.

“A teacher can call for a student, a friend can call for someone,” she said. “As long as we have a consenting individual on scene, we can respond.”

In the 18-county region that this MCRT covers, they receive anywhere from 10 to 20 calls a month, Berning said. In Webster County, they get around eight to 10 calls each month.

“The majority of our calls to help when law enforcement goes out and they don’t think it’s a law enforcement-type of situation,” she said. “So they’ll call us and we’ll go on scene and take over.”

She said a lot of schools in the region also call for the team’s services.

“We do serve all ages and all crises,” she said.

To reach the Mobile Crisis Team, call 1-855-581-8111.