Rethinking 911: What if we responded to crises with HEART?
BACKGROUND
In 2020, as calls for alternatives to policing echoed across the nation, the City of Durham got serious about exploring new ways to respond to our residents in crisis. An extensive review of 911 call data revealed that many calls did not require a police presence and instead presented an opportunity to dispatch unarmed teams of professionals trained specifically for needs relating to mental health, and other quality-of-life related issues. The Department of Community Safety was born of this opportunity.
The work captured below is specific to community collaboration and offers a glimpse into the early stages of what has become a continuous and expanding effort to build a robust alternative response program that prioritizes compassionate care. (To put this into perspective, in mid-2021, I was among the first 3 staff members, along with the Director and Assistant Director, pulling together whatever we could with our multiple hats. Today, in early 2025, our department has over 50 dedicated team members — most of whom are first responders.)
SELECTED INSIGHTS
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When it comes to the nuances of comfort and care in a crisis, no detail is too small. Who arrives at your door, and how do they show up? What vehicle do they arrive in? What kind of uniform are they wearing? What are their first words to you or your loved one? When I asked people to walk me through their ideal response, the vision became clear—our job was to bring it to life.
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What happens after "the call"? Once the dust settles and responders leave, neighbors are often left to navigate impossible systems with very few resources to do so... Follow-up support can mean the difference between getting the help you need and finding yourself right back in crisis.
STAKEHOLDERS / COLLABORATORS
Residents of Durham (we call them "Neighbors")
TEAM
My wonderful colleagues at Durham's Community Safety Department (DCSD)
Big picture learning
Government can be a notorious slow moving ship. Here, the antidote is not to "move fast and break things", but build thoughtfully and watch things flourish. Listening to community early and often, and investing in a team that can operationalize these insights, helps build programs that people really want, need, and use. And that is both community-centered and cost effective.
Personal reflection
I was nervous to take a leap into the world of public safety, wondering, "Is this work for me? Will I be in over my head, disheartened, or worse — bored?" In truth, nothing has been more rewarding than nurturing these humble pilots into the substantial and effective programs that they have become. Never have I learned as much about the nuances of collaboration, implementation, and maintenance. What's more, I get to witness a growing, diverse team of passionate people shape the future of this work — and that shapes who I am, as well.
PHASE ONE: RESEARCH & PLANNING
 Community-InformedAs the small and scrappy team's community-centered design strategist, I got to work leading in-person and virtual resident interviews, focus groups, listening sessions, and collaborated on virtual "town halls", reaching over 200 community members to better understand the challenge and desires. |  Highly-CollaborativeWe formed (and met with often) a multi-agency planning team with other first responders, local organizations, and service providers. I conducted ride-alongs with local police officers, and interviewed Peer Support Specialists, community health workers & mental health professionals. |  Data-DrivenReviewing 3 years of Durham 911 calls, the team worked to understand which calls could be appropriate for our pilots. We also conducted a use of force analysis and built data tools that allowed us to analyze calls by volume, frequency, location, risk level, and response time. |
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SNAPSHOTS OF IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS (click to scroll left or right)
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OTHER ARTIFACTS OF ENGAGEMENT (click images to open documents)
PHASE TWO: PILOTING A NEW FIRST RESPONSE
By listening to community stakeholders — our neighbors — we designed four distinct, yet interconnected, pilot programs — each operating under the name HEART (Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Teams). We tracked their success, measured their impact, and gathered community feedback, willing to let go of anything that wasn't working. Today, those pilots have grown into fully staffed programs, operating as a unified network of care, ensuring support at every step of a crisis.
HEART's 4 crisis response units are...
 Crisis Call DiversionMental health clinicians are embedded into Durham’s 911 Call Center to triage, assess, and respond to behavioral and mental health related calls for service. |  Community Response Team3-person teams provide rapid, trauma-informed care for 911 calls involving behavioral and mental health needs and quality of life concerns, including the needs of people who are unsheltered, by dispatching unarmed, skilled and compassionate first responders. |  Co-ResponseA mental health clinician pairs with a crisis intervention-trained police officer to respond to highest risk calls involving mental and behavioral health needs. |
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 Care NavigationTeams of a peer support specialist and a mental health clinician provide in-person or phone-based care following an initial encounter with HEART crisis responders, with the intention of following up until the neighbor is connected to the care they need and want. |
A CONTINUAL PROCESS OF LEARNING & ITERATION
While I’m proud of all we’ve accomplished, this work is far from finished. We continue to learn—and refine how we learn. With that, my team has also grown, and I now lead DCSD’s Learning and Iteration Team, known affectionately as LIT Lab. Together, my four incredible staff add expertise in public health, public policy, social work, community organizing, and education. Along with the larger team, we work to deepen and operationalize collective insight, strengthen how we share with and engage community, and ensure heart-centered services for our neighbors.
Examples of shared learning: Monthly Data Cards (right) provide easy-to-read overviews of HEART services. Learning with HEART agendas (below) have been one way I have crafted spaces for learning from our team of responders.
Where did the name HEART come from? During an early ride-along with police, I stood beside a mother as she watched officers restrain her son in the street. While we hadn't met before, it wasn't the first time she had been here. She turned to me, searching for reassurance, and I could do little but share some understanding — I had been through something similar with a loved one. We talked, and quietly she said, "So you have a heart for this." That moment stuck with me, and it became a touchstone for our team as we developed our plans. When it came time to name our new crisis response team, HEART was the natural choice.
Note: Collaboration is imperative to my work (meaning others are very often involved). With exception of the 911 data analysis work, I created and/or led everything on this page, including planning, facilitation and associated activities, materials, infographics and other renderings.
Curious to learn more? Witness HEART's first year and follow our impact.
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