WEST SHORE, B.C. - The West Shore RCMP Mental Health Unit is heading into winter with Winter Warming Kits in hand, part of a co-response program that pairs Mounties with Island Health nurses to meet people where they are.
The detachment’s specialized Mental Health Unit works with Island Health under a co-response model, pairing RCMP officers with Registered Nurses who attend calls together. The team conducts mental health assessments wherever the client is, often in their own home, and also supports clients who are part of the unhoused population, the detachment said.
“Our team conducts mental health assessments wherever the client is, which is often within their own home,” said Cpl. Justine Dancey, supervisor of the West Shore RCMP Mental Health Unit. “However, we also support clients who are part of the unhoused population and face additional challenges.”
To meet those challenges, Cpl. Dancey and the unit’s nurses developed the Winter Warming Kits, which are carried by the Mental Health Unit and available to frontline officers across the West Shore to give to anyone in need during a shift. Each kit holds practical items for survival and hygiene: rain ponchos, shower wipes, toothbrushes, socks and gloves, hand warmers and granola bars.
“By providing these basic necessities, we can open a door to conversation and connection,” Cpl. Dancey said. “Often, a small gesture of care is the first step in connecting someone who is experiencing homelessness and may be experiencing a mental health challenge.”
The West Shore covers the Vancouver Island communities of Langford, Colwood, View Royal, Highlands and Metchosin, west of Victoria. The co-response model it uses is one Surrey readers know well: Surrey’s Car 67 program likewise pairs an RCMP officer with a Fraser Health mental health nurse to respond to people in crisis across Surrey.
(Source: West Shore RCMP news release, November 2, 2026)
