set by the National Science Foundation.
People experiencing a mental health crisis in Louisville will soon be able to get help at any time of the day with the expansion of the city's crisis call diversion program.
Mayor Craig Greenberg announced Wednesday that beginning July first.
The program also known as deflection will operate.
24 hours a day, 7 days a week and all 8 Louisville Metro police divisions.
The program diverts calls involving mental health crises, 2 trained operators or counselors.
City leaders say the program free-up officers to go where they are needed most.
>> People are dealing with a mental health crisis and they call 9-1-1.
There is going to be a behavioral health specialist that is there to help them when they're KO means the criterion.
That means more people across Louisville will be able to benefit from the services.
That means or LMPD officers can stay focused on preventing violent crime from happening or responding to those dangerous situations.
And our Metro safe call takers will be able to more quickly.
The answer.
The emergency calls that are coming in.
Our commitment is to public safety.
And we talk about public safety.
We want everyone to feel safe.
>> The entire community and sometimes.
That means that we have a run that may come in and we want to ensure that the best resources or dispatched to that call for service and sometimes that response is not an individual with a badge and a gun.
Sometimes that needs to be someone who's experienced and mental health because mental health and mental health crisis is very real in our community.
And that's something that we need to recognize and and provide the appropriate services to those individuals.
>> City leaders say this year alone, the Metro Safe 9-1-1, center has diverted 1500 calls and mobile crisis response team made up more than 5 100 mobile runs to help individuals in