Community Responders Pilot Program

The help you need, when you need it. 

Over 100 American cities now send civilian first responders instead of police to low-level health and safety needs in the community. Join the movement to bring community responders to Buffalo and Erie County.

A new type of first responder

Community responders are first responders, just like firefighters, police, and paramedics. They respond immediately, in person, to low-risk calls related to health and social needs. Calls include (but are not limited to) those related to mental and emotional distress, drug use, arguments, homelessness, and poverty. Teams are composed of health professionals and peers with lived experience and respond to calls independently, without police. They aren’t dispatched to calls involving violence, crimes in progress or medical emergencies, except as a secondary response.

Our ultimate goal is for every person in Erie County to have access to community responders 24 hours a day, every day of the year, with a response time of 30 minutes or less. Community responder teams should be accessible via a direct phone line, 211, 311, 988, and 911 so that no matter how a person attempts to access help they will receive an appropriate response to their need. Eventually, all low-risk calls involving health or social needs, from anywhere in Erie County, should be directed to a community responder team. 

We believe that community responder teams must be:

• Culturally appropriate. Community responders and their organizations must reflect and be accountable to the community they serve. 
• Consent-based. Each individual has autonomy and the right to make their own decisions about their bodies and wellbeing. 
• Peer-driven & person-centered. Care is delivered by people who understand because of their own experiences. Care is offered based on the individual’s expressed needs and desires. 
• Timely. First responders must arrive quickly to be helpful. Every call should have a response time of 30 minutes or less.  
• Well-resourced. Workers deserve family-supporting wages and benefits, time off, supportive supervision, a healthy work environment, and a voice in decision-making. 
• Self-determined. Community safety and well-being are all of our responsibilities. Communities can determine and define for themselves how safety and care are achieved. The community has the skills to take care of itself, community responders just add their support.  

Current partners include: 

• Bethel AME Church
• Buffalo Center for Health Equity
• Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition
• Little People’s Victory
• Partnership for the Public Good
• VOICE Buffalo

Join the movement today!

What are community responders?

Community responders are a fourth type of first responder, equal to police officers, firefighters, and paramedics. They respond immediately, in person, to low-risk calls related to health and social needs, including, but not limited to, those related to mental health, drug use, homelessness, and poverty. Teams are composed of health professionals and peers with lived experience and are dispatched independently from other first responders. They aren’t dispatched to calls where violence, weapons, or serious crimes are reported.

What kind of calls do community responders go to? 

Common call types that are dispatched to community responders are welfare checks, intoxicated persons, concerns about mental or emotional health, conflict resolution, person down, syringe disposal, and other nonviolent, non-criminal calls for assistance. Examples include situations where people in public spaces are loitering, sleeping, using drugs, or are intoxicated, verbal disagreements, shouting or other social disturbances, or other urgent but non-emergency concerns about someone’s health or well-being. Calls do not have to rise to the level of a crisis to receive a response. Most calls to community responders are non-crisis, preventive responses. 

What training do community responders have?

Most community responder teams employ health professionals (such as EMTs and mental health clinicians) and peers, or trained community members. Training includes crisis intervention, de-escalation, First Aid and Mental Health First Aid, harm reduction, restorative practices, cultural humility, service navigation, and extensive field training. 

What do community responders do when they arrive?

Community responders provide care to people in distress, which might look very different depending on the situation and the person’s needs and desires. Team members listen, provide emotional support, de-escalate tensions, and problem-solve with the person to meet their needs. They can provide immediate help for basic needs like food, water, clothing, and personal care items, and can link people with longer-term resources and supports. Many teams can transport people in need to other locations such as shelters or care facilities, with the person’s permission. The assistance that is provided is collaborative and consensual. In a very small percentage of cases (less than 5%), community responders might need to call other first responders for backup or transportation to a hospital if there is a life-threatening emergency or imminent risk of serious harm to the person or others.

Don’t we already have this in Erie County?

No. Some police departments in Erie County have co-response teams, called Behavioral Health Teams, that dispatch mental health clinicians together with police officers to some calls. In addition, non-profit organizations such as Crisis Services, Inc., operate mobile crisis teams that send teams of two clinicians to a narrow set of mental health emergencies where there is an imminent risk of harm to the person or others.

Unlike police co-response teams, community response teams operate independently from police and very rarely involve police on calls. Unlike mobile crisis teams, community responder teams respond to a variety of non-crisis calls related to a range of issues, not only those involving a mental health crisis. In addition, community responders are multi-disciplinary and often include peers, medical professionals, community health workers, and/or trained crisis workers.

What other places are doing this?

Community responders originated in Eugene, Oregon in 1989 with the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) program, and community responder programs are often referred to as the “CAHOOTS model.” More recently, community responder teams have launched in Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, Portland, Durham, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, St. Petersburg, Tulsa, Indianapolis, San Diego, and over 100 other cities and counties across the United States.

Are community responder programs safe?

Yes. Over 100 cities now operate an alternative response program, and no deaths or serious injuries have been reported. In Oregon, the CAHOOTS program has operated for over 35 years and responds to over 20,000 calls a year with no serious injuries or deaths. In Denver, the STAR program has operated for four years without ever having to call for police backup. Here in Erie County, health professionals (such as social workers, nurses, and EMTs) and peers safely and successfully meet with community members in distress in their homes and community spaces every day. Community responder programs simply create a way to match people with the right skills to the right calls, calls that overburden traditional responders in our current system. In addition, team members go through extensive training, and calls are screened to match teams to the appropriate situations.

Still have questions? Read our full report.