Crisis Information 24-Hour Emergency Services
In any life-threatening emergency, call 911 immediately. If you are in a crisis, call 703-746-3401 for emergency services. After business hours, leave a message with the answering service and your call will be returned within 15 minutes.
A person in crisis, their relative, friend, neighbor or other concerned individual can call for help from Emergency Services.
You can reach Emergency Services at any time of the day or night at 703-746-3401. During regular business hours, this number will be answered by a receptionist. Ask to speak to an Emergency Services worker. If you call Emergency Services after business hours, a live answering service will answer. Leave a message and a worker will return your call within 15 minutes. You can also come to the office when it is open and ask to speak to an Emergency worker in person. We are located on the second floor of 720 North Saint Asaph Street in Alexandria. We are open Monday through Wednesday from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, and on Thursday and Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
What are Emergency Services?
Emergency Services is a program that provides crisis intervention for anyone having a serious mental health or substance abuse problem. Services are provided by licensed professionals who provide crisis intervention by telephone or in person. These staff are specially trained to evaluate mental health, alcohol and drug problems and to provide whatever help is needed.
What types of problems does Emergency Services handle?
People call Emergency Services with all kinds of problems and questions. Examples include stress, anxiety, depression, unusual thoughts or behavior, thoughts about hurting themselves or someone else, alcohol or drug problems, family problems and other things. Sometimes people will call because they are worried about someone else who has these problems. Emergency Services staff can provide help over the phone or in person, and can travel anywhere in the City of Alexandria.
Emergency Services procedures
What will happen if I call or come in to speak to an Emergency Services worker?
If you are calling about someone else, Emergency workers will ask questions about the situation, and will ask for information about how to contact that person. If you are calling for yourself, you will be asked similar questions so that Emergency Services can decide how best to help you. It may be that just talking to someone on the phone is enough to fix the problem. Sometimes, we will suggest that you call another agency or program like Social Services or Substance Abuse who can better meet your needs. Sometimes we will ask that the person who is in crisis come in to the Mental Health Center to talk with an Emergency worker in person.
If a person in crisis needs more support than is available in the community, the worker might suggest going to a crisis care bed or a hospital. If the person agrees, Emergency Services will help make the necessary arrangements. (If the individual is under 14, a parent or guardian would need to agree to hospitalization. If he or she is between 14 and 18, the individual and a parent or guardian would need to agree.) Sometimes, the worker may decide that the person in crisis needs to be in a hospital to stay safe but the person can not or will not agree. In this situation, the worker would arrange that the person be hospitalized involuntarily (against his or her will), using a Civil Mental Temporary Detention Order.
How does a Temporary Detention Order (TDO) work?
An Emergency Services worker will use a TDO only if there is no other way to keep a person from hurting him/herself or others, or if a person is unable to care for himself or herself because of mental illness. The Emergency worker will request a TDO from the City Magistrate. If the Magistrate agrees that the person needs to be in a hospital, the Magistrate will issue the TDO to the Alexandria Police. The police are responsible for taking the person to the hospital. For safety reasons, the police will handcuff the individual during the ride to the hospital.
What happens after a person has been taken to the hospital on a TDO?
Once admitted to the hospital on a TDO, a person is not allowed to leave the hospital until his or her commitment hearing, which is usually within 48 hours (sometimes longer due to weekends and holidays). During this time, an independent evaluator from the Mental Health Center will evaluate the person to see if he or she can be safely released from the hospital. Mental Health Center staff will also attempt to contact family members to notify them of the hearing. The person who has been detained can bring his or her own attorney to the hearing, or have one appointed by the Court. Based on information from the detained individual, his or her attorney, the independent evaluator, and others who may wish to speak, the judge decides whether the individual will remain hospitalized or be released.
If committed by the judge, the person may return to the hospital where he or she was detained or be transferred to another state or local hospital. Mental Health Center staff locate a bed at an appropriate facility, and the judge orders the individual committed to that specific hospital. Although a commitment order can last up to 180 days, the average length of stay for a committed patient is two weeks. The hospital doctor usually decides when the person should be released from the hospital. Hospital fees may be covered by Medicaid, Medicare, other insurance, or be charged to the individual.
What are the specific rights of a person who has been committed?
If a person does not agree with the judge’s commitment ruling, he or she has the right to appeal the decision within 30 days of the hearing. To file an appeal, the individual should contact the attorney who represented him or her at the hearing. A committed person generally can not be forced to accept specific treatment, such as medication, except in an emergency or other unusual situation. Most hospitals have a “Patient Bill of Rights” which describes specific patient rights and responsibilities. A relatively new federal law does prohibit anyone who has been committed from legally purchasing a firearm.
Can I still see my therapist/counselor/worker while I am in the hospital?
Yes. Anyone you have been working with outside the hospital can come to see you in the hospital. In addition, if you are not already working with staff from the Alexandria Mental Health Center, a discharge planner from the Center will be assigned to coordinate your treatment between the community and the hospital.
Who can I call for more information?
If you have any questions not answered by this pamphlet, please call 703-746-3400 and ask for an Emergency Service Worker. Our staff will be happy to talk with you.
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