News & Events

Denver’s STAR Program is a success. So much so that it’s expanding this year. Here are some more local resources to phone if you don’t want to call the police. 5280 by: Celeste Benzschawel Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program has responded...

The program also applied for an additional $1.4 million, from the Caring 4 Denver fund. Denverite by: Esteban L. Hernandez Denver’s STAR van drives past the Denver Rescue MIssion at Park Avenue and Lawrence Street. Feb. 12, 2021. Denver’s Support Team Assisted...

A Strategy for Improving Emergency Responses and Reducing Police Violence Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund Introduction Approximately 240 million calls are made to 911 every year in the United States.1 Only a small fraction of these calls are for serious or...

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel By Ashley Houston Carleigh Sailon, Mental Health of Denver program manager, left, and Dustin Yancy, a Denver Health paramedic, respond to 911 calls involving mental health and substance abuse in Denver. City of Denver The calls for help...

Colorado Politics By Joey Bunch Caring for Denver Board chair Leslie Herod, a lawmaker from Denver, speaks with Lorez Meinhold, executive director of the voter-approved foundation’s board of directors.Courtesy of Caring for Denver The Caring for Denver...

TEDxMileHigh By Lily Capstick In June 2020, the Denver STAR program—a group of mental health professionals trained to respond to 911 calls—launched in Denver, Colorado, just as protests against police brutality erupted country-wide. Since June, the Denver STAR...

Criminal Legal News, a project of the Human Rights Defense Center By Kevin Bliss STAR Program Redirecting Mental Health Emergency Calls Away From Police a Success in Denver USA Today reports that Denver, Colorado, is showing success with a new program that...

Curbed By Alissa Walker Social Workers Instead of Police? Denver’s 911 Experiment Is a Promising Start Instead of a police cruiser, a van with bottled water and snacks. Photo: Courtesy of Caring for Denver A 911 dispatch looks about the same no matter where you...

Thought Nova By Joshua There is already evidence that a new program where social workers and paramedics respond to certain kinds of non-criminal complaints in Denver instead of cops is working as expected. The program is called the Support Team Assisted Response...

Colorado Politics By Julia Cardi Denver police Chief Paul Pazen during an April 9, 2020, press conference expresses gratitude to the community for supporting first responders amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Alayna Alvarez, Colorado Politics) The new year has...

Healthy Happy News By Admin When Compassion Works Instead Of Force: Denver Saving Lives By Sending Health Care Teams to Non-Criminal Calls The city of Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) has been effective that majority of their calls come from their fellow...

A pilot program where teams of social workers and paramedics respond to certain non-criminal complaints in Denver is showing early success. Good News Network By Andy Corbley Denver Police Department The Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program was launched in...

CBS News By Li Cohen A program that replaces police officers with health care workers on mental health and substance abuse calls in Denver, Colorado, is showing signs of success, according to a six-month progress report. Despite responding to hundreds of calls,...

USA TODAY By Grace Hauck Denver successfully sent mental health professionals, not police, to hundreds of calls Another U.S. city is reporting early success with a program that replaces traditional law enforcement responders with health care workers for some...

The Denver Post By Elise Schmelzer A concerned passerby dialed 911 to report a sobbing woman sitting alone on a curb in downtown Denver. Instead of a police officer, dispatchers sent Carleigh Sailon, a seasoned mental health professional with a penchant for wearing...

Freethink By Doug Dais Video: https://youtu.be/qZ4b70dqews As tensions between law enforcement and the public continue to rise, many are beginning to evaluate the role of the police, and specifically – whether all 911 calls warrant a visit from armed...

Colorado Springs Gazette By Matt Vasilogambros, Stateline How one Colorado program uses mental health clinicians as alternative to police Protesters in Denver call for the defunding of police in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. Cities across the...

CBS 4 Denver By Tori Mason  August 24, 2020 at 10:58 pm CBS 4 Denver DENVER (CBS4) – More than 55 law enforcement agencies across Colorado participate in co-responder programs, pairing law enforcement and behavioral health specialists. The Mental...

Alayna Alvarez, Colorado Politics  Aug 10, 2020  Denver has reached a boiling point. Gripped by a global pandemic, soaring unemployment, unrest from racial injustice and an unending homeless crisis, residents are scared. They’re angry. They’re stressed and...

News Release Contact: Taylor Roddy (312) 208-6483taylor@caring4denver.orgJuly 28, 2020 Denver, CO – Caring for Denver Foundation under leadership from Executive Director Lorez Meinhold and Board Chair State Rep. Leslie Herod recently approved $6.7M in grants to...

Colorado Politics  July 30, 2020 The Caring for Denver Foundation is awarding $6.7 million to community-based nonprofits and city departments working to move Denver toward embracing a criminal justice model that treats people more as patients rather than prisoners....

Colorado Politics Alayna Alvarez Jun 17, 2020 Updated Jun 18, 2020 Chief Paul Pazen of the Denver Police Department addresses members of the Denver City Council’s safety committee in the Denver City and County Building on June 17, 2020.  Courtesy of Denver 8 TV...

5280 Magazine Caring for Denver’s STAR van sends a paramedic and clinician to non-criminal 911 calls. The goal is to avoid unnecessary officer involvement—and to find gaps in Denver’s support systems. BY ANGELA UFHEIL •  JUNE 17, 2020 • 5280...

 Denver CBS 4 Alan Gionet • June 12, 2020 DENVER (CBS4)– It’s a plain van. Actually a re-purposed vehicle that had been destined for traffic enforcement. Yellow lights on top not blue. There’s no logo yet, but they’re working on it. “It’s pretty unassuming,” says...

Denverite Kevin Beaty - June 8, 2020 Roshan Bliss has been trying to find ways to curb police violence for years and scored a major victory at the beginning of the month, just as Denver started protesting racism and police brutality. Bliss, a volunteer and co-chair of...