Our CARES CAR is a new service recently added  to our department and aims to serve our community with various complex medical and social needs. 

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• What is the CARES Program? – CARES stands for Community Assistance Referrals and Education Services.  We partner together a Fire Fighter with a Social Worker to assist community members with complex medical or social needs.
• What does the CARES Team do? – We respond to certain types of 911 calls and receive referrals from our Fire Department crews that indicate someone might need assistance navigating a medical, behavioral health, or other ongoing need.  We work with people to figure out what they want support with and connect them to the appropriate resources.
• What kinds of things can the CARES Team help with? – We can provide help and support in many different ways.  We can provide information and referrals for programs related to aging services, mental health, substance use, housing, food insecurity, and many more.  We often work with the individual person, their family, and medical or service providers to identify how to overcome the challenges they are facing. 
• How does the CARES Program benefit our community? – We aim to enhance the overall wellbeing of our community by supporting the success of each person we come into contact with.  In doing so, we strive to reduce the number of non-emergent 911 calls by connecting people to the right services and to free up our other crew members to be available for critical calls.  

Our CARES team is currently staffed by Firefighter Tony Rosenthal and Social Worker Lindsey Mueller, MSW.

The office Phone number for our CARES staff is 206-242-2040 ext. 125

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Phone nubmer:

206-242-2040 ext. 125

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CARES car DATA 2023

2023

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Tony Rosenthal
​Firefighter

Tony has been a firefighter for 33 years.  His experience and training in behavioral health make him a perfect fit for the CARES unit. Tony has certifications in Basic and Advanced Peer Support, CISM, ICISF - Assisting Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention, King County CIT certification, and numerous IAFF Center of Excellence Certifications. 

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Lindsey Mueller
​Social Worker, MSW

Lindsey is a clinical social worker.  She has worked in various interdisciplinary roles coordinating care and advocating for patients.  Lindsey’s previous positions include working with police departments, in emergency rooms, providing community mental health care, and domestic violence survivor advocacy. ​

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