PERT, Inc. was granted 501(c)(3) status in July of 1998. The agency was developed through the collaboration of law enforcement, San Diego County Mental Health, Community Research Foundation and other mental health providers, NAMI San Diego, as well as mental health consumers and their families. It had become clear that a service was needed in the San Diego community that would provide professional mental health support to law enforcement as they interfaced with individuals with mental illness. The Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) program was designed to provide this service.  PERT has evolved from two part-time volunteers in the beginning to having over 20 full-time clinicians as well as support staff, a law enforcement liaison, and an Executive Director.