The Integrated Response for Intervention & Support (IRIS) Team consists of one deputy, one mental health clinician, and one Charlotte County EMT who have received specialized training for mental health, crisis intervention, and medical related calls for service. The Team operates from a vehicle equipped with specialized medical equipment, along with a single person enclosure to transport citizens in need of services to a receiving facility.

The IRIS Team is a collaboration between Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (law enforcement) Charlotte County Fire and EMS (Fire/EMS), and Charlotte Behavioral Health Care (mental health professionals) to help redirect individuals with mental illness from the judicial system and other high-cost health care systems to lower cost health care interventions. The purpose of this program is to address the growing issues surrounding mental health, homelessness, and substance abuse challenges our community faces. To deliver quality professional services to the community while minimizing the abuse of 911 and diverting emergency services response. The target population are people who contact 911, or by other means come in to contact with law enforcement and are presenting with a mental health or substance use concern. IRIS members will assist persons and families in crisis in the community and attempt to restore the person to a pre-crisis level. IRIS will be able to provide direct follow up until the crisis is diverted or resolved.

IRIS also incorporates Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) – Community Paramedicine (MIH-CP) component. This is the provision of healthcare using patient-centered, mobile resources in the out-of-hospital environment. MIH-CP is provided by a wide array of healthcare entities and practitioners that are administratively or clinically integrated agencies, while CP is one or more services provided by practitioners that are administratively or clinically integrated with other healthcare entities.

Some examples of calls to which the IRIS Team may respond include:

• Repeat callers to 911 and high system users.
• Clients who are identified as high utilizers of the public health system.
• Persons with known mental illness disconnected from services and causing concern in the community.
• Suicidal attempts and completions.
• Drug overdoses.
• Follow up for emergency petitions done by law enforcement deputies.
• Habitual runaway juveniles.
• Clients who are mentally ill and/or suffer from substance abuse and at high risk of becoming involved in the judicial system.
• Victims and witnesses of traumatic events.
• Death notifications.
• Well-being checks.
• Lift assists.
• Chronic non-life-threatening medical complaints.

This program launched on October 18, 2021.

To reach the IRIS team, call the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at (941) 639-2101.