LA expands unarmed mental health teams in several Westside communities [Video]

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Monday announced the expansion of the city’s CIRCLE program to address homelessness.

CIRCLE, which stands for Crisis and Incident Response through Community Led Engagement, is a 24/7 program that helps free up LAPD officers by sending non-violent 911 mental health calls to mental health and outreach workers.

In the last fiscal year, city officials say more than 14,000 incidents were diverted to CIRCLE, and CIRCLE teams placed hundreds of individuals into interim housing, reconnected individuals back to their families, and into supportive housing placements.

The program has also assisted more than 1,600 individuals with obtaining vital documents such as social security cards and IDs, referred more than 1,000 individuals to mental and behavioral health services, and reversed opioid-related overdoses.

“We are responding to the mental health crisis with solutions that are long-term and sustainable. At the same time, we are freeing up our LAPD officers to fight …