WYTHEVILLE, Va.- Wythe County’s Emergency Communications Center will be gathering voluntary information from individuals to help when local emergency services respond to an incident. The information will help Wythe County responders with individuals that have mental health issues that may be needing help at the incident.
MARCUS (or “Mental Health Awareness Response and Community Understanding Services”) is an alert system protocol mandated by the General Assembly, meant to assist first responders with managing mental health expectations at each response. MARCUS sign-up starts with brief form about any mental health issues, medications and triggers an individual has to help first responders know how to handle each incident more efficiently.
“Studies show that one in four adults experiences some form of mental health issue,” said Wythe Public Information Officer Elizabeth Sweeney. “Mental health matters and Wythe County wants to help citizens feel safe when they need assistance. Having MARCUS in place and having citizens utilize it will help create more safety and security for both citizens and first responders.”
Contact information, emergency contact information, and other mental status information can be listed on the form, along with medications, or anything that the individual might feel is necessary for emergency responders to know.
The form can be emailed, mailed, dropped off in person, or faxed. The form can be changed or updated at any time by the individual. A guardian of an adult or minor may fill out the form for that individual (proof of guardianship may be needed before the information is entered into the system). Upon the minor reaching the age of 18, the information will be removed from the system.
The form can be found on the Wythe County Website under the Emergency Communications tab. Just click on the link, fill out the form, or print it out. If you have questions about this form, please call 276-223-4533.
