AUSTIN, Texas - The City of Austin is starting a pilot program to help respond during mental health crises.

The "Austin FIRST" pilot program is set to last six months. After that, they will evaluate what went well and what needs to change.

What is Austin FIRST?

The backstory:

It is going to be the first of its kind. A group of three people from the Austin Police Department, Integral Care, and Austin-Travis County EMS will all respond together to high acuity or what could be dangerous mental health calls.

"There are plenty of jurisdictions around the U.S. that have co-response, but they don’t respond to these kinds of incidents because they’re high acuity," City of Austin Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Escott said.

The city said this response is needed, and they want to try it out.

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