"Baltimore is revolutionizing its emergency response by leveraging opioid settlement funds to expand mobile crisis teams, offering non-police interventions for a wider range of non-violent 911 calls, aiming to reduce arrests and connect individuals with appropriate services."
Baltimore is pioneering a significant shift in its public safety strategy, moving away from traditional law enforcement responses for non-violent emergencies and instead channeling crucial funding towards specialized mobile crisis teams. This initiative, powered in part by substantial opioid settlement funds, seeks to address the complexities of situations that do not require police intervention, such as mental health crises, homelessness, or public disturbances. By diverting these calls from the traditional 911 system and directing them to trained mental health clinicians and peer counselors, the city aims to provide more effective, compassionate, and de-escalatory solutions, ultimately reducing unnecessary arrests and improving outcomes for vulnerable residents.
The transformative potential of this approach is vividly illustrated by the experience of a 38-year-old woman encountered by mental health clinician Michala Williams in a McDonald’s parking lot. Overwhelmed by a confluence of personal hardships—including caring for children aged 2 to 22, managing health issues, and dealing with her fiancé’s recent incarceration—she found herself in profound distress, experiencing suicidal ideations and an inability to eat. Her previous attempt to seek help at a hospital was thwarted when she was pulled over for an expired car registration en route, leading to an arrest for erratic behavior and a night in a cold jail cell instead of receiving medical attention. This harrowing experience highlights a critical systemic failure: individuals in acute mental health distress, seeking urgent care, can inadvertently become entangled in the criminal justice system.
Fortunately, her subsequent 911 call was intelligently triaged by a dispatcher who recognized her need was not for law enforcement but for the specialized expertise of Baltimore’s mobile crisis teams. These teams, overseen by Behavioral Health System Baltimore, the city’s designated mental health authority, have historically focused on mental health emergencies. However, the new expansion, fueled by approximately $400 million in opioid-related legal settlements, aims to broaden their scope and operational capacity, enabling them to respond 24/7 to a wider spectrum of crises. Williams’ intervention with the 38-year-old woman exemplifies the program’s intended impact. Within an hour, Williams connected the woman with vital resources, including referrals to a psychiatrist and therapist, legal assistance, and a case manager to explore eligibility for services for her child with autism. "She’s been through a lot of trauma," Williams observed, "and no one is going to deny that. But I now have to take all of that and decide, ‘OK, here’s steps 1, 2, and 3,’ because we’ve got to find a little bit of sliver of something to give her some hope that there’s help out here."
Baltimore’s proactive investment in these expanded crisis response services addresses a growing need. In 2024 alone, the city logged a staggering 1.68 million calls to 911. A significant portion of these, tens of thousands, do not necessitate the involvement of traditional emergency services like police, firefighters, or paramedics. Tahir Duckett, an expert in community safety at Georgetown Law, emphasizes that many of these calls pertain to situations like a homeless individual sleeping in a store, a disoriented person in a park, or someone exhibiting disruptive behavior in public—scenarios that do not inherently require law enforcement. "Such calls don’t require a badge, a gun, and handcuffs to resolve," Duckett states. The current reality often sees individuals in such non-criminal situations ending up incarcerated rather than receiving the appropriate support.
Research underscores the efficacy of diverting these calls from police. A recent study in Durham, North Carolina, demonstrated that non-law enforcement teams responding to 911 calls resulted in fewer arrests compared to police responses, particularly for Black individuals, men, and those aged 25-39. Furthermore, police encounters can be traumatizing and may not yield as satisfactory an outcome as a community service-oriented response. The core principle behind Baltimore’s mobile crisis teams, and their impending expansion, is to identify the specific needs of individuals in crisis and connect them with the most suitable resources, thereby averting unnecessary criminalization.
Baltimore’s strategic allocation of opioid settlement funds is particularly noteworthy. In 2018, the city chose to pursue independent litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors, opting out of a global settlement. The resulting awards are earmarked for addressing drug-related harms and supporting preventative services, including housing assistance, healthcare, and education. This financial windfall is enabling Baltimore to implement a multi-faceted strategy to bolster its public services. Sara Whaley, Baltimore’s director of overdose response, highlights that $15 million has already been allocated to expand 911 services. This expansion is envisioned as a catalyst for a broader re-evaluation of how the city responds to residents in distress, regardless of the nature of their 911 call. Whaley views each call as an opportunity for intervention and problem-solving rather than punishment. "What are the wraparound services and support that can help prevent them from being involved in this, in that emergency system?" she asks. The goal is to connect individuals with resources like community housing for those experiencing homelessness, thereby reducing violence, ensuring access to proper care, and breaking the cycle of incarceration for individuals struggling with poverty, addiction, and mental health challenges.
The impact of such diversion programs is gaining wider recognition. Rebecca Neusteter, executive director of the Health Lab at the University of Chicago, who studies these initiatives, notes that they provide callers with the assurance of receiving "the right response at the right time." Moreover, she observes that responders themselves feel better equipped with a "better toolbox in their ability to pursue actual resolution to these calls."
Baltimore’s expansion efforts draw inspiration from other cities that have successfully implemented similar models for rerouting non-emergency calls. Durham, North Carolina, offers a compelling example with its Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team (HEART). In its four years of operation, HEART has reportedly diverted over 12,000 calls, requiring police backup in only 0.02% of cases. This program has also contributed to improved response times across all 911 call types.
The types of calls handled by Durham’s HEART program demonstrate its broad utility. Data collected by the program reveals that non-police responders have assisted individuals in a wide array of situations, from securing housing for a woman fleeing domestic violence to arranging medical appointments for a homeless veteran. One notable instance involved a hotel manager calling 911 to find overnight accommodation for a blind guest, as the hotel lacked accessible rooms. HEART responders not only booked the guest a room but also provided transportation the following day to connect him with an organization that could assist with long-term housing solutions. These examples underscore the profound impact of specialized response teams in addressing the multifaceted needs of a community, moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to public safety and embracing a more holistic and compassionate model of care.
This article is the product of a partnership involving WYPR, NPR, and KFF Health News.
