Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast) has partnered with Centerstone and the Venice Police Department (Venice PD) to launch Behavioral Response and Community Engagement (BRACE), a new mental health crisis response initiative designed to provide timely, person-centered support for individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.  The BRACE program embeds trained mental health professionals into the local emergency response system to respond to nonviolent, mental health-related 911 calls. The program aims to reduce repeated crisis calls and unnecessary emergency room visits while helping residents access appropriate care. BRACE will respond primarily to mental health-related calls, while the COT will continue to focus on substance misuse and homelessness-related responses. BRACE augments the existing COT by adding a pre-crisis intervention strategy that expands the community’s overall crisis response capacity.  Residents can reach the BRACE team by calling 941-882-7566 or 941-882-7583.