THOUSAND OAKS : Office for Mobile Crisis Team Approved

Thousand Oaks officials have approved plans to establish an east Ventura County headquarters for a mobile mental health crisis team.

The new office, approved by the City Council on Tuesday night, will allow mental health experts to respond more quickly to emergencies in Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley.

The team, which is called in to defuse potentially violent situations, such as suicide attempts and spousal disputes, will be based at the East Valley Sheriff’s Station on Olsen Road.

Mobile crisis team supervisor Mary Randall said the new location would allow the team to respond to incidents in progress in all three cities in the east county.

“Right now, coming from Ventura, it can take us 45 minutes to an hour to respond to an emergency,” Randall said. “That obviously is not very good for anyone.”

Randall said there has been a need for mobile crisis services in Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley since the east county unit was cut eight years ago.

The team will operate rent free from the city-owned Olsen Road station, which is in Thousand Oaks. In exchange for the space, the Ventura County mental health department agreed to pay about $10,000 for necessary renovations to the sheriff’s station.

Thousand Oaks officials praised the agreement and said the crisis services will be an important addition to the area.

“This is a very creative approach to filling a need for the people of Thousand Oaks,” Councilwoman Elois Zeanah said. Randall said she expected the mobile unit to be up and running early next year.