Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
RACER director: regional crisis responders handled 179 Kenmore encounters in 2025; agency short of full 24/7 coverage
Loading...
Summary
RACER Executive Director Brooke Bittner told Kenmore council the interlocal crisis response team served 69 unique Kenmore residents in 179 encounters during 2025 and remains short of full 24/7 coverage, asking the council to help recruit community advisory members and noting ambulance transport and overnight staffing as persistent challenges.
Brooke Bittner, executive director of the Regional Crisis Response Agency (RACER), updated the Kenmore City Council on regional crisis response work and Kenmore‑specific outcomes for 2025. RACER is an interlocal effort among five cities (Kirkland, Bothell, Kenmore, Shoreline and Lake Forest Park) to provide behavioral health crisis alternatives to emergency responders.
Bittner said RACER served about 1,800 unique individuals across the full jurisdiction in 2025 for roughly 4,300 encounters; in Kenmore specifically, "we served 69 unique individuals during 179 encounters," she said. She described the crisis responder role—de‑escalation, immediate aid, referrals, and limited follow‑up—and noted that about half of RACER's encounters are in‑progress 911 calls while the rest are follow‑ups and referrals.
Why it matters: Council members and presenters emphasized that crisis responders reduce police workload and downstream costs (jail bookings and emergency department visits) by connecting people to services. Bittner said long‑term outcome monitoring by the county shows substantial reductions in jail bookings and hospital use for people touched by the program.
Bittner flagged governance and capacity issues: RACER is near fully staffed but still has a 5‑hour nightly gap in coverage and governance structures that require a community‑provider majority on operations bodies. She asked the council to refer residents with lived experience to join RACER's community advisory board. She also identified a systems bottleneck: ambulance transport to the county's crisis care center currently lacks sustained reimbursement, which limits first‑responder admissions from some partner cities.
Next steps: RACER said its executive board will examine proposed budget and staffing changes; Bittner urged continued city outreach so residents and people with lived experience can participate in advisory work and help the agency develop stronger local ties.
