Portland Street Response (PSR) is a part of Portland’s 911 response system that assists people experiencing mental health and behavioral health crises. Calls where a patient is treated and released per protocol are considered a ‘success’ i.e. PSR arrived, located the client, assessed the need, and delivered an appropriate service. The appropriate service varies depending on the situation, and can be anything from medical treatment for an injury, transport to a shelter, referral to services, to provision of basic necessities. Tracking this measure helps us gauge PSR’s ability to arrive promptly enough to locate the subject and the nature of the need when they arrived.

In 2023 and 2024 approximately 44% of clients were treated per protocol.

8% of clients refused service in 2023, falling to 5% in 2024.

In 2023, 49% of calls were canceled on scene or prior to arrival. In 2024 this was 45%. We believe that the number of calls canceled with no client contact can be reduced by decreasing the response time of PSR units by increasing staffing and improving distribution of units within the city.

The possible call outcome types recorded by Portland Street Response about every call are:

• Patient treated, released per protocol: The client of the call was identified, and some action was taken by PSR. This could include material assistance, medical treatment, advice, transport, etc.
• Canceled on scene, no patient found: The PSR team was unable to locate the subject of the call after arriving on scene.
• Canceled on scene, no patient contact: The PSR team did not make contact with the subject of the call after arriving on scene. This is typically because another responder arrived first to treat the patient.
• Canceled prior to arrival at scene: The call was canceled before the PSR unit reached the scene. This would typically be because the 911 operator received reports that the cause of the call had been resolved.
• Patient refused: The subject of the call was successfully located and engaged, but declined PSR services.
• Queued call: The PSR team successfully located the subject of the call, but determined that they were unable to meet the needs. A referral was made to one or more of: behavioral health, housing, PF&R’s CHAT (medical teams), shelter, or later PSR follow-up.

More information on Portland Street Response can be found at the PSR website, and additional data can be found at the PSR Dashboard.

You can call 911 to request Portland Street Response. Our 911 dispatchers will have a list of questions they will ask to determine which responder is most appropriate to send: Police, Fire, Portland Street Response, or AMR ambulance service. If the call fits the criteria for Portland Street Response, dispatchers will alert the team and send them to the call.