The Marcus Alert ensures that a mental health crisis in Virginia is met with a clinical response rather than just a legal one, prioritizing specialized behavioral health teams to keep individuals safe and supported.
Imagine being in the middle of a medical emergency. You call 911, expecting paramedics to arrive with medical equipment and compassionate care. Now, imagine if, instead of paramedics, a team of police officers arrived to manage the situation. For decades, this has been the terrifying reality for individuals experiencing a behavioral health emergency. When families called 911 because a loved one was in the midst of a mental health crisis, the default response was often law enforcement.
If you have ever hesitated to call for help because you were afraid of how the situation would be handled, your fears are incredibly valid. You want your loved one to be met with clinical care, de-escalation, and understanding—not flashing lights, handcuffs, or the threat of the legal system.
The state of Virginia recognized this systemic gap. To ensure that mental health crises are treated as medical emergencies rather than criminal issues, the state developed the Marcus Alert. This vital protocol ensures that behavioral health experts, not just police, are integrated into emergency responses.
If you are a resident of Virginia navigating mental health challenges for yourself or a loved one, understanding the Marcus Alert empowers you. You are the hero of your family’s story, and knowing how the system is changing gives you the tools to advocate for safe, compassionate care.
What is the Marcus Alert in Virginia? (A Quick Overview)
For those looking for a quick answer on how emergency responses are changing in Virginia, here is the core of the Marcus Alert system:
- The Definition: The Marcus Alert is a statewide initiative in Virginia designed to ensure that behavioral health emergencies are met with a specialized, clinical response rather than a purely law enforcement one.
- The Goal: To prioritize the deployment of trained mental health professionals and mobile crisis teams to individuals in distress, keeping them safe and supported.
- The Integration: It links the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline with the traditional 911 dispatch system, ensuring seamless communication and appropriate triage based on the caller’s specific clinical needs.
- The Impact: It reduces the likelihood of unnecessary arrests, trauma, and escalation by providing a health-focused continuum of care.
The History and Necessity of the Marcus Alert
The Marcus Alert is named in honor of Marcus-David Peters, a young, unarmed biology teacher who was tragically killed by police in Richmond, Virginia, in 2018 while experiencing a mental health crisis. His death sparked a statewide demand for change, highlighting the dangerous reality that law enforcement officers are fundamentally trained to respond to crime, not to de-escalate complex psychiatric emergencies.
When a mental health crisis in Virginia occurs, the individual involved is usually terrified, disoriented, or overwhelmed by internal stimuli. The introduction of uniformed officers, loud sirens, and authoritative commands can severely exacerbate a person’s symptoms. The Marcus Alert was signed into law to fundamentally restructure this response, shifting the focus from public safety enforcement to public health intervention.
How the Marcus Alert Actually Works
Understanding the mechanics of the Marcus Alert can alleviate the fear of calling for help. When a crisis occurs, the goal of our organization is always to make sure that people find the help they need locally, when they need it. Here is a step-by-step look at how the protocol works in action:
- The Triage Process at Dispatch
When you call 911 or 988, specialized dispatchers use a specific triage framework to assess the situation. They listen to the caller to determine the level of threat and the clinical needs of the individual in crisis.
- Routing to Behavioral Health
If the situation is deemed a mental health, substance use, or developmental disability crisis without an immediate, severe threat to public safety, the call is routed to behavioral health experts. Instead of dispatching a police cruiser, the system mobilizes a clinical response.
- Mobile Crisis Deployment
Under the Marcus Alert framework, Mobile Crisis Teams are deployed. These teams typically consist of licensed mental health clinicians, peer support specialists, and crisis workers. They arrive in unmarked vehicles and plain clothes to safely de-escalate the situation, provide on-the-spot therapy, and assess the individual in their own environment.
- Co-Responder Teams (When Necessary)
In situations where there is a potential safety risk but a clear mental health component, a “Co-Responder” model may be used. This pairs a specially trained Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) law enforcement officer with a mental health clinician. The clinician takes the lead in communicating with the individual, while the officer is there solely to ensure the physical safety of the environment.
The Local Impact: Region Five Community Services Boards
Mental health care must be anchored in the community. In the Greater Tidewater Hampton Roads area of Virginia, Region Five is your authority on mental health. The Marcus Alert protocol relies heavily on the local infrastructure of Community Services Boards (CSBs) to provide ongoing care after the initial 911 or 988 call.
There are nine community services board locations in Region Five where you can get affordable and accessible help for mental health concerns. The successful implementation of the Marcus Alert means that residents connected to the following brick-and-mortar clinics have access to a safer continuum of care:
- Chesapeake Integrated Behavioral Health (CIBH)
- Colonial Behavioral Health
- Eastern Shore Community Services Board
- Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board
- Middle Peninsula-Northern Neck Community Services Board
- Norfolk Community Services Board
- Portsmouth Behavioral Health
- Virginia Beach Community Services Board
- Western Tidewater Community Services Board
By integrating these CSBs into the emergency response framework, the Marcus Alert ensures that individuals aren’t just stabilized and left behind—they are actively connected to local outpatient therapy, peer support, and psychiatric resources.
Advocating for Your Loved Ones
If you find yourself needing to call 911 for a loved one experiencing a psychiatric emergency, you can actively participate in the Marcus Alert process.
- State the Crisis Clearly: Immediately tell the dispatcher, “This is a mental health crisis, not a crime.”
- Request a CIT Officer or Mobile Crisis: Ask directly if a Mobile Crisis Team or a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) trained officer is available to respond.
- Provide Context: Share any known diagnoses, triggers, or calming techniques that work for your loved one.
A Brighter, Safer Future
The Marcus Alert represents a monumental shift in how Virginia views and treats mental illness. It acknowledges that a crisis is a call for compassionate medical help, not a criminal offense. By prioritizing specialized behavioral health teams, we are keeping individuals safe, reducing trauma, and giving families the peace of mind they deserve when reaching out for help.
Learn more about the Marcus Alert protocol and how it integrates into our local services by visiting our informational page: The Region Five Crisis Continuum of Care & Marcus Alert
If you or a loved one are in distress, you do not have to wait for an emergency to escalate. You can dial or text 988 to reach someone if you have a 757 area code. You can also reach the Region Five Crisis Line anytime 24/7 at 757-656-7755.
