New Orleans mobile crisis team reports 3,769 calls and 39% diversion in 2025

New Orleans’ civilian Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit handled 3,769 calls for service during 2025, reporting an average response time of approximately 17 minutes and diverting 39% of behavioral-health calls from traditional first responders.

The City of New Orleans released the results on July 24, 2026, citing the MCIU’s 2025 annual report. The report, prepared by Resources for Human Development in partnership with the New Orleans Health Department, covers January 1 through December 31, 2025. The figures are reported by the city and program; they are not presented as independently audited outcomes.

What the 2025 report shows

The annual report lists an 87% behavioral-health handoff rate and a 75% follow-up success rate. It also reports a 22% community-resolution rate.

The city’s announcement separately described more than 450 calls as resolved in the community without transport to an emergency department or another facility. The percentage and count are related but distinct measures, so they should not be treated as interchangeable.

Transport remains part of MCIU’s work when it is clinically necessary. The annual report says transport to hospitals, clinics, schools or shelters was the program’s most frequent intervention.

How residents access MCIU

MCIU is a civilian-only mobile crisis team operated by Resources for Human Development and funded by the New Orleans Health Department. It is dispatched through New Orleans’ 911 system and operates around the clock for eligible nonviolent behavioral-health crises.

Team members can assess a crisis, de-escalate the situation, provide stabilization, connect people with services, create safety plans and arrange transport when needed. For a behavioral-health emergency, residents should call 911 and describe the circumstances clearly, including whether weapons, violence or a medical emergency are involved.

The city says MCIU responds to nonviolent behavioral-health calls, including situations involving psychosis, thoughts of suicide, urgent substance-use treatment needs or trauma. It does not respond as a standalone team when a crisis involves weapons, threats of violence, an active suicide attempt or another medical emergency. In those cases, the appropriate emergency responders are dispatched.

What the numbers do—and do not—show

The city and annual report say call volume increased approximately 54% from the program’s launch in June 2023. The report says MCIU handled 2,448 calls in its first year and 3,769 calls in 2025.

That increase shows broader use of the service, but it does not by itself establish that behavioral-health crises are becoming more common. The reported diversion, handoff, follow-up and community-resolution rates also do not independently prove reductions in crime, emergency-department use, police workload or city spending.

For New Orleans residents, the practical takeaway is that a civilian crisis team may be dispatched through 911 when a behavioral-health emergency is nonviolent and does not involve an active medical danger. Police, fire and EMS remain part of the response system when the circumstances require them.

Key sources

• New Orleans MCIU resident guidance