STAR is a partnership between the Mental Health Center of Denver, Denver Health, Denver Police Department, Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, and stakeholders like Caring4Denver.
It launched on the 1st of June, 2020 and it’s noted huge success since.
This program provides crisis response to community members with issues associated with their mental health, as well as homelessness, depression, poverty, substance abuse, etc.
Since the launch, the responders have responded to more than 1000 mental health calls, all of which resulted in no police, no arrests made, and no injuries.
A New Way of Helping People that Does Not Involve Police Intervention
Prior to the STAR program, Denver’s 911 system was limited to addressing the 911 calls in a traditional manner such as sending a patrol.
The calls for safety and health issues were resolved in two ways.
STAR wanted to offer a third way. Today, when a person calls 911 for something such as a mental health problem, substance abuse or homelessness, or poverty, it’s transferred to STAR.
They dispatch a licensed behavioral health professional as well as a paramedic.
Once the dispatch team arrives, the individual can be assured that the goal is to reduce harm and trauma.
This is why the dispatch team wears street clothes and provides direct de-escalation and connections with community services, but also resources like water, food, clothes, and basic living supports.
How Does STAR Contribute to the Community?
STAR’s success is measured by how they resolve crises and how they connect people with services. The Denver Police Department has emphasized the importance of providing alternatives to the traditional approach.
None of their calls involved a need for police intervention.
They’ve learned from these calls that the expanse of the program will help lower the need for a response of emergency medical services and law enforcement in some crises such as welfare checks, indecent exposure, intoxication, etc.
As the program progresses, fewer individuals will need to be imprisoned or use the emergency medical services if the call can be addressed by STAR.
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