City’s Behavioral Health Response Team Expands with New Response Model

The City's Behavioral Health Response Team (BHRT) has launched the Clinician Alternative Response (CAR), an addition to its crisis response continuum of care. CAR enables two BHRT clinicians to respond to certain 911 calls for service in lieu of law enforcement.

Part of the City's Community Safety Department, BHRT began in 2020 as a team of behavioral health crisis counselors and specially trained police officers who respond to 911 calls that appear to be related to mental health or substance use. The team prioritizes de-escalation and connection to services.

An extension of BHRT, CAR diverts certain emergency calls from traditional law enforcement to a response by BHRT crisis counselors during the hours of 6 am to midnight, Monday through Friday. This allows the Greensboro Police Department to focus resources on criminal matters and higher-risk crises. Whether a call is appropriate for a CAR response is at the discretion of BHRT staff and officers.

"We're excited to offer CAR as an additional response model to help those in our community experiencing a mental health crisis," said Dewey Mullis, behavioral health supervisor. "CAR aligns with the CSD's motto of, 'The right responders at the right time in the right situations.'"

During a pilot of CAR from mid-February to April 2, during the hours of 8 am to 6 pm, four BHRT clinicians responded to 45 emergency calls within the CAR protocol, which saved more than 60 patrol responses while maintaining the flagship co-response model for higher acuity calls.

The Community Safety Department takes a holistic, collaborative approach to improving Greensboro's public safety through community-centered prevention initiatives, crisis intervention services to help de-escalate violence, and long-term, intensive case management for individuals whose issues-such as mental health, substance use, and homelessness- have put them in frequent contact with law enforcement. For more information, visit www.greensboro-nc.gov/csd.