Local youth mobile crisis response team expands presence in Whatcom County
A regional program providing in-person support to youth and families in crisis has expanded its operation in Whatcom County and the surrounding areas.
YGo, Compass Health’s youth mobile crisis team, operates in Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties. The Northern YGo team, which serves Whatcom and Skagit counties, assisted 660 unique clients in 2025 — double the number they helped in 2024.
To keep up with this need, the Northern YGo team now operates seven days a week rather than just weekdays. They also shifted and extended their hours to work until 8 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.
Bobbie Racine, program manager for the Northern YGo team, said the changes will help to better serve the community. Because the team helps individuals under 20 and their families, providing services outside of school hours allows them to provide assistance when it’s most needed.
The YGo team often responds to calls about suicidal ideation and self-harm attempts. They also work with kids who are struggling in school, being discharged from the hospital following a crisis, involved in the justice system or dealing with child protective services.
The YGo team is typically dispatched after someone calls 988 or the local Volunteers of America crisis line, and the response is always in person. They also get referrals, most often from schools.
The program is voluntary, and youth must consent to receive care. Teens over 13 can reach out and agree to treatment without their parents’ knowledge or permission.
What does the YGo team do?
Youth and family units have different needs than individual adults, Racine explained, so it was important to establish a dedicated crisis service for them.
Unlike traditional services, the YGo team can work with families for up to eight weeks. They often involve youth peers for support and, uniquely to the program, parent peers as well. These parents bring their own lived experience of raising kids with behavioral health issues and navigating the system.
The team can meet with youth and their families at their home, school, shelters or juvenile court–ideally, Racine said, wherever they’re most comfortable. The goal is to keep them in their current environment rather than having them go to the emergency room or calling law enforcement, which don’t often address long-term needs or deal with the family unit as a whole.
How has YGo evolved?
Amy Pereira-Clevenger, director of crisis response and stabilization at Compass Health, said the YGo team was officially created in 2022. The state had set aside money for youth and family crisis teams, and Compass Health put in a bid for the region’s funds.
The YGo program — initially called the Child, Youth, and Family Crisis Team — expanded on Compass Health’s existing Mobile Crisis Outreach Team and follows the Mobile Response and Stabilization Services model. The team was recently renamed to encapsulate the idea of helping youth “go” from crisis to recovery.
Both Racine and Pereira-Clevenger said they hope to see the program continue to expand, both by further extending its hours of operation and adding more staff.
“I’m really excited about the program and passionate about youth and their families, and we definitely have filled a gap in services,” Pereira-Clevenger said.