On Tuesday, November 15, the San Gabriel Police Department entered into a joint agreement with the local non-profit Chinatown Service Center (CSC Health) to add instant virtual mental health services to its field team capabilities. 

Ten iPads were donated to the San Gabriel police and fire departments for first responders to use in the field as a tool for mental health analysis, education, and service referral, especially when working with individuals who have mental wellness issues or language barriers. The iPads are pre-installed with an app that will instantly connect to one of CSC Health’s clinicians virtually. This instant access allows the clinician to directly work with individuals in need, provide officers with analysis and give service referrals or share resources where needed. The clinicians are on call 24/7 and can speak English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. The program will eventually expand to offer services in other languages as well such as Vietnamese and Spanish.