Solari executive outlines statewide 988, 2‑1‑1 and mobile crisis response serving Arizona

Justin Chase, chief executive officer of Solari Crisis and Human Services, told the Arizona House Health and Human Services Committee on Jan. 29 that Solari’s statewide crisis operations handle thousands of contacts each month and aim to keep individuals in the community and out of emergency rooms and law‑enforcement contacts.

Chase said Solari operates a 24‑hour crisis hotline and the statewide 988 operation in Arizona; a peer‑run warm line; a 2‑1‑1 information and referral system; mobile crisis dispatch; and targeted programs such as a domestic‑violence hotline and a veterans’ support line. “We’re really focused on what we call upstreaming — engaging individuals and families in the community that they call home and keeping them there whenever possible,” Chase said.

Chase gave the committee performance figures he said are current to the prior year: the crisis hotline handled almost 40,000 calls per month in Arizona across phone, text and chat; the peer warm line served roughly 7,000 callers per month; mobile crisis teams were dispatched about 5,000 times per month; and Solari’s Arizona 2‑1‑1 handled more than 523,000 interactions in the previous year. He also said Solari diverted nearly 11,000 calls out of 9‑1‑1 statewide in the past year and that the organization posts a public dashboard showing rolling 30‑day performance for Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed Solari on two practical problems legislators hear about from constituents: rising housing‑related needs and heat‑related risk. Chase said housing‑security calls make up roughly 60% of 2‑1‑1 volume and described Solari’s flex‑fund payments for short‑term housing assistance. He said that flex funds — often drawn from philanthropic and state partnerships — have kept 92% of recipients housed six months after assistance, reporting an average payment of about $1,628 per household on those flex fund interventions over a recent three‑year span.

On heat relief and older adults, Chase said 2‑1‑1 receives calls when cooling systems fail and that Solari partners with counties and community agencies to provide transportation to cooling centers and other short‑term supports.

Committee context: Members thanked Solari for the statewide coverage and asked several operational questions: Representative (Rep.) [name withheld in transcript] asked whether flex funds remain available as federal ARPA funding sunsets; Chase said some philanthropic and state partners (including the Arizona Department of Housing) continue to provide support but that sustainable funding is an active planning priority. Rep. [name withheld] asked whether Solari provides training or technical assistance for schools; Chase said the organization offers youth mental‑health first‑aid training and surge/critical‑incident supports but that the pandemic had shifted emphasis to phone and dispatch operations.

What Solari said about callers’ needs: Housing expense assistance, emergency shelter and utility assistance were top needs routed through 2‑1‑1, while the crisis hotline’s most frequent acute reasons were suicidal ideation/self‑harm, psychosis and anxiety; social concerns among youth also rose during school months, he said. Chase said Solari stabilizes callers on the phone about 88% of the time and dispatches community providers when necessary.

Ending: Committee members thanked Solari for the briefing and acknowledged the group’s role in statewide crisis response. Chase invited members to tour the Solari operations to see the dispatch and dashboard systems. The committee then moved on to legislative business.