People facing mental health crises in the Madison area may now experience a quieter, safer and more comfortable form of help as the city rolls out a new fleet of sprinter vans designed for on-scene crisis intervention.
Officials say the new vehicles will help support the Community Alternative Response Emergency Services (CARES) team as crisis workers de-escalate emergencies and better support people when they’re most vulnerable.
Previously, the CARES team used decommissioned sport utility vehicles from the Madison Fire Department that had once been assigned to fire chiefs. Those vehicles offered limited space for crisis workers to engage with people in need of care, who were seated in the back behind a partition separating them from the driver…