AUSTIN (KXAN) — The city of Austin has launched a pilot program aimed at improving mental health crises after finding a gap in its response to some mental health emergencies.

The program is called Austin Field Integrated Response Support Team, or Austin FIRST. The program came after a review of the current protocols regarding law enforcement, according to a memo released by the city last Friday.

In the memo, some city leaders, including Austin Chief Medical Officer Mark Escott, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis and ATCEMS Chief Robert Luckritz, said their departments "found a gap in the current response model for high-acuity mental health emergencies."

The type of call's current standard is for Austin-Travis County EMS and the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, or EMCOT, to wait for law

See Full Page