Crisis Services: Significant funding boost accelerates mobile outreach growth and strengthens crisis-to-care system

Crisis Services press release

Crisis Services announced it has received a $245,000 grant from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation to expand its mobile outreach program. This investment will significantly increase staffing capacity and strengthen the internal infrastructure necessary to meet growing community demand for behavioral health crisis response.

The grant supports the broader crisis to care collaborative, launched in May 2025 by elected leaders in Buffalo and Erie County, the CEO of Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), and the executive director of the Patrick P. Lee Foundation. The collaborative brings together municipal and county government, law enforcement and emergency services, health care and behavioral health providers, advocates, and individuals with lived experience to transform Erie County’s behavioral crisis response system. The shared goal is to ensure people experiencing a mental health emergency are connected to timely, effective care.

In December 2025, the collaborative released a comprehensive report analyzing how emergency call centers, police, EMS, and health care providers respond to mental health-related emergencies. The report serves as a blueprint for strengthening coordination, improving outcomes, and advancing a mental health-first approach to crisis response.

One of the report’s key recommendations was the expansion of mobile crisis teams, which deploy licensed mental health clinicians to provide on-scene support. Data show these teams effectively divert individuals from unnecessary emergency department visits and connect them to appropriate community-based care. However, ongoing staffing shortages have limited the program’s full potential.

Crisis Services has operated one of the longest-standing mobile crisis programs in New York, providing community-based response since 1980. The Patrick P. Lee Foundation investment will allow the organization to double the number of mobile crisis teams and strengthen the infrastructure that supports them. The expansion is expected to improve response times, increase the ability to meet individuals where they are, and further reduce reliance on law enforcement and emergency departments – reflecting the system-level improvements envisioned by the crisis to care collaborative.

A second critical component of the grant will bolster workforce sustainability and internal capacity. Crisis Services will align staffing with community demand, enhance support for frontline team members, and expand resources that promote staff wellness and long-term program stability.

The expansion launched in February and will continue scaling over the next 18 months. Progress updates and outcome metrics will be shared through the crisis to care collaborative to ensure transparency and accountability with the other stakeholders and the community.

“Since 1968, Crisis Services has delivered around-the-clock crisis support to our community,” said Jessica C. Pirro, president and CEO of Crisis Services. “Effective crisis care depends on a system that is connected, collaborative and responsive to changing needs. Through the crisis to care collaborative, we are aligning roles across the crisis response continuum to ensure people receive timely, appropriate support. “

According to Pirro, “This investment from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation represents a transformative moment for our organization and for Erie County’s crisis response system. For more than four decades, our mobile outreach teams have demonstrated that bringing compassionate, clinically trained professionals directly to someone in crisis can change the trajectory of that experience. Expanding our teams means more individuals will receive the right care at the right time, in the right place, without unnecessary involvement from law enforcement or emergency departments. We are grateful for this partnership and proud to help lead this system-level change.”

“We are proud to partner with Crisis Services and other community stakeholders to reimagine how our community responds to behavioral health crises,” said Jane Mogavero, executive director of the Patrick P. Lee Foundation. “Through the crisis to care collaborative, we have consistently heard from community members that a mental health emergency deserves a mental health response. By expanding the number of trained clinicians available to support individuals in crisis, this grant moves us closer to a comprehensive system of care that reflects the community’s vision. ”

More about Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service Inc.: Crisis Services provides 24/7 support to Western New Yorkers during the most difficult times in their lives. We serve as an ever-present lifeline and first responder for individuals experiencing mental health crises, substance use challenges, thoughts of suicide, or domestic and sexual violence. Beyond intervention, we connect individuals and families with education, prevention programs, and ongoing support. Whether at the beginning of a struggle or at its most urgent point, we save lives. Learn more at www.crisisservices.org and follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

More about the Patrick P. Lee Foundation: The Patrick P. Lee Foundation is a private foundation committed to achieving immediate and measurable impact in the areas of education and adult mental health. In education, the foundation envisions a community where individuals achieve economic self-sufficiency without undue financial burden. For people living with mental illness, the foundation envisions communities where individuals are engaged, supported and connected.