For two years, social science researchers observed the conditions under which patients with mental health disorders were received and their urgent psychiatric requests were handled. Many of the people who use these emergency channels (hospital emergency departments, health centers, social emergency services, hotlines, etc.) are frightened by the healthcare system, sometimes bounce from one facility to another, or are completely marginalized. Emergency services can thus play a positive role as a safety net, as can organizations that help guide patients toward appropriate care. Faced with the disconnect between patients’ needs and the available care, some professionals and organizations are innovating by intervening as close as possible to the community, at the neighborhood level or within a care facility.