Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A new report has been launched on Wednesday, calling for the City of Buffalo and Erie County to invest in community responders.
Community responders are a new type of first responder proliferating across the country to respond to nonviolent calls without the assistance of police or other emergency responders.
"For decades, Erie County residents have relied on 9-1-1 as the primary resource for help in any situation. 9-1-1 is called for everything from violent crime like shootings, to the most mundane everyday events - cars parked on the sidewalk, dogs barking, fireworks, kids skipping school. In Buffalo, most calls to 9-1-1, over 80%, are not about crime of any type. Yet, regardless of the situation, police are almost always sent," said Colleen Kristich with the Partnership for the Public Good.
This approach is not only often dangerous, but also unnecessary, costly, and ineffective.
Instead, community responder teams composed of health professionals and peers can be safely deployed without needing to call in police officer or other emergency official.
"They are equivalent to firefighters, paramedics and police. They are a first responder. Where police exist to address crime, firefighters to stop fires, EMS for medical emergencies, community responders are specifically for health and social needs in the community," Kristich said. "Teams are composed of health professionals and peers who are often EMTs or mental health workers, and trained peers who respond to calls independently without police. That's how it's different from a co-response model, just the team goes to the calls alone. They provide person-centered care immediately on site, they go in-person and deliver that care right away."
Community responders are usually dispatched through 9-1-1, 9-8-8, or 3-1-1, or a direct phone number. They play a prevention role before a situation has escalated into needing some type of higher response.
To help kick off the pilot for the community responders program, an initial $100,000 of state funding has been secured by State Sen. Sean Ryan to begin community outreach, training, and data collection for a pilot community responder program in Buffalo.
"We are in the process of being very hopeful and planful to launch a community responder pilot in a Buffalo neighborhood with the money that we have gotten. We are planning for one team right now, and also understanding that the need is much greater than that, so we are also looking into other funding sources to continue to expand that," said Nicolalita Rodriguez de Melgar from Little People's Victory. "Right now, we are doing a lot of community outreach in that pilot area, really speaking with residents of that area and their neighborhood to see really what this program could look like, what the needs might be that we're looking at that need to be addressed, and what are the hopes for the future of those residents as well."
There has been several benefits of having a community responders program for other cities across the nation.
"Community responder teams keep people safe. No program has ever reported deaths or serious injuries for the staff or the public. They connect people with the care they need. Several programs have helped people find housing, who until connecting with a team, had been living on the streets for decades, in one case, up to 27 years," Kristich pointed out. "They save taxpayers money. Some programs have seen startup costs repaid in as little as six months. The program in Eugene, Cahoots, saves the City of Eugene $2.2 million every year in officer wages, and over $14 million a year in reduced emergency room visits. They reduce response times, because many programs respond to tens of thousands of calls a year, and up to half of non-criminal calls from police response, which frees police to respond faster to other calls, and ambulances are also freed up. Community responder teams rarely need to call for backup with programs requesting an ambulance or police backup in less than 3% of calls. They reduce crime in places where community responders exist. Studies have shown that issue-related public order crimes like trespassing, loitering, things like that, have been decreased by over 1/3 since the program started operating. Finally, they strengthen neighborhoods by solving community problems. Residents feel safer knowing they have a trusted, appropriate resource they can call in a time of need."
"I believe the community need for community responders is exceptionally high, especially in Buffalo, New York, as we know how segregated it is," added Charis Humphrey with the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition on Wednesday. "Oftentimes, the police may have well-intentioned aims, however, there is just a looming distrust in communities of color, oftentimes. As well as in mental health crises, oftentimes the person in need may experience almost like a coercive approach to going into a facility or things like that. The community need is there. People need to have people that they are familiar with, that are culturally aware, and that are even aware of their history being the people to respond to the issues going on. And who better knows how to respond to a community need than your neighbors?"
Organizers are hopeful to have the first community responders team active and ready in Buffalo sometime in early 2025.
