Press Release: CITY OF AURORA TO PURSUE NON-POLICE MODEL FOR EMERGENCY CALLS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 21, 2020
Contacts:
Vinnie Cervantes, DASHR
720.413.0124 | vinnie@dashrco.org
Natalia Marshall, Aurora resident and activist
nmarshall02@gmail.com
Councilwoman Allison Hiltz, Aurora City Council
303.739.7015 | ahiltz@auroragov.org
CITY OF AURORA TO PURSUE NON-POLICE MODEL FOR EMERGENCY CALLS
Aurora joins Denver as cities in Colorado looking to explore alternatives similar to Eugene model.
Denver, CO – The organization Denver Alliance for Street Health Response (DASHR) was founded in 2018 with the hopes of creating a non-police emergency response in Denver, CO inspired by a program in Oregon called CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets). The program provides a more appropriate and more humane approach to crisis involving homelessness, mental health, and substance use. The CAHOOTS program answers about one-fifth of the 911 calls in Eugene and saves the city on average $8 million per year. DASHR’s efforts, alongside other community groups and partners, resulted in the launch of the new STAR (Support Team Assisted Response) pilot program in Denver on June 1st.
Since January, DASHR has also been working with members of Aurora’s City Council to explore building a model similar to CAHOOTS. “Aurora currently has a co-responder model, but we know that a police presence can escalate a situation,“ said Councilwoman Allison Hiltz who chairs the public safety committee on council. “In looking at other models, we are better able to prioritize our community’s needs and rethink how we deliver mental health care.” She plans to present a brief update on their progress at a committee meeting on August 27, with hopes for a more complete proposal in the near future.
Natalia Marshall, whose uncle Michael Marshall was killed in the Denver jail noted that this type of response could prevent similar things from happening. “My uncle Michael had schizophrenia and when he called police to report his bible as stolen, he was met by police officers instead of mental health professionals who brought him to the jail, which led to his death.” She adds that he needed mental health services not jail. Natalia is an Aurora resident and activist for alternatives to police and criminal justice reform.
DASHR strongly believes in creating alternatives to policing, jail, and the prison industrial complex more generally. “I believe we’re in a critical moment where the ideas we’ve been fighting to achieve for years are finally getting the attention and consideration they’ve always deserved,” said Vinnie Cervantes, Organizing Director of DASHR. “It’s important that our solutions are truly alternatives to systemic harm and that they are led by the community” DASHR is committed to helping facilitate community involvement in the programs.
About DASHR
Denver Alliance for Street Health Response (DASHR) is a coalition of groups and individuals who create and support community- based responses to crisis and conflict, as well as forge new narratives of public health and safety.
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