Cambridge Unarmed Response Team Dispatches to 911 Calls

The Cambridge Safety Department’s unarmed response team is now responding to nine different types of non-violent 911 calls — including mental-health related emergencies — in the latest development to the city's initiative to expand policing alternatives.

The team initially gained eligibility in July to respond to a limited number of non-violent 911 calls, including notify citizen calls – which involve letting residents know about the death of a loved one — and psychiatric calls. The Community Alternative Response and Engagement team currently operates on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10am to 5pm.

“We are really so grateful to have the opportunity to be on these calls because we’ve already just seen the impact of having a different response that has a little bit more time, a little bit more capacity, and a little bit more of that expertise around mental health assessment,” CSD director Liz Speakman said in a July interview.

In one of their first calls, Speakman and two other members of the CARE team visited the home of a woman who expressed thoughts of self harm. According to Speakman, the team conducted a psychological assessment, developed a follow-up plan, and checked in on her a week later.

“If they had called another first responder, they definitely would have just brought her to the hospital because they’re not trained like I am to do that full assessment and be able to make a determination that she was actually okay to stay home,” she said.

Speakman noted that the ability to respond to psychiatric calls in person can make a significant difference in the patient’s emotional state.

“It was really powerful, just being able to — especially when it’s someone in their own home — to be able to say, ‘I see you, and I'm here for you, and I really am actually here for you, and we'll spend as much time as we need to help you make sure that you have a plan in place,’” she said.

On top of responding to 911 calls, the CARE responders also provide ongoing case management and emotional support for members of Cambridge’s homeless population.

Judith Siemen, co-director of First Parish — a Harvard Square church that provides support for homeless people — said the CARE team has made a significant effort to get to know homeless Cambridge residents and organizations already working with the population.

“They have EMT training, they have psychotic training, they’re social workers, they’re counselors, et cetera and they're young, and they're great, and they come to us most Thursday nights,” Siemen said.

According to Siemen, the team is particularly helpful in dealing with meal attendees with physical and mental health problems. In one instance, the CARE team helped a guest who passed out on his way to the weekly meal after another organization was unavailable.

Siemen said that the CARE team’s volunteer work at the Harvard Square Church’s Meal Program allowed the members to initially get to know the population they will be serving in a non-threatening setting.

“I see them as being supportive of the police in situations where the person or people that they’re asked to deal with are having psychotic episodes or emotional episodes,” Siemen said.

“They are very willing to sit down and just introduce themselves, talk about who they are, listen to people. That’s really critical too because a lot of our guests really just need to listen to them, and that helps figure out how we can be better helpful to them,” she added.

Despite the existence of the unarmed team, there is no guarantee that if someone calls 911 and requests an unarmed response that CARE will be sent to respond. According to Speakman, the decision to send CARE is under the discretion of a dispatcher who analyzes the situation and determines an appropriate response.

Still, Alexis Grandberg, the director of First Step — which pairs homeless people with shelters in the area – said that because negative relationships often exist between the police and members of the homeless population, having CARE as an alternative in mental health situations will be beneficial to their services.

“Sometimes in my program, calling the police is completely the right thing to do,” Grandberg said. “But when it comes to a mental health crisis, I don’t think that it's always the best solution.”

—Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at sally.edwards@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or on Threads @sally_edwards06.

—Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at asher.montgomery@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @asherjmont or on Threads @asher_montgomery.