John M. | Red Phoenix correspondent | Colorado–

In the shadow of Denver’s bustling neighborhoods, where working-class families juggle long shifts, rising rents, and the daily grind of making ends meet, a quiet revolution has been underway since 2020. It’s called the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program—a mobile crisis team that sends mental health clinicians and paramedics to handle non-violent 911 calls, stepping in where traditional police responses often fall short. For communities long weary of escalations that turn minor distress into tragedy, STAR represents not just progress, but a lifeline. As the program marks its fifth anniversary in 2025, its growth from a single pilot van to a citywide network of eight vehicles underscores a shift toward compassionate, effective support that prioritizes healing over handcuffs.

Launched on June 1, 2020, amid nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd, STAR was born from collaborations between the Denver Police Department, the Mental Health Center of Denver (now WellPower), Denver Health, and grassroots advocates like the Denver Alliance for Street Health Response (DASHR). It started small: one van operating weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown neighborhoods, targeting calls involving mental health distress, substance use, homelessness, or welfare checks—situations too often escalated by police presence. The goal was clear: divert low-risk crises from officers, connect people to services, and reduce the cycle of arrests that disproportionately traps working-class families and communities of color.

Early data validated the vision. In its first six months, STAR handled 748 calls with zero arrests or escalations requiring police backup. About 35 percent of those dispatches came directly from officers themselves, recognizing that clinicians and medics were better equipped for de-escalation. By December 2020, pilot neighborhoods saw a 34 percent drop in low-level crimes—roughly 1,400 fewer offenses—compared to areas without STAR service. Researchers attributed this to fewer citations issued and better connections to treatment, breaking patterns of reoffending rooted in untreated trauma.

By 2021, as the program marked its first anniversary, it had expanded to three vans and citywide coverage during business hours. No calls routed solely to STAR resulted in arrests after 15 months, underscoring its role in humanizing responses to distress. Community input was baked in from the start, with advocates like DASHR pushing for a model that prioritized civilian-led interventions over police oversight. This shift allowed working families—often juggling low-wage jobs and caregiving—to access help without fear of criminalization.

The momentum built steadily. In 2022, Denver City Council approved a $1.4 million contract to add three more vans, bringing the fleet to six and the budget to $3.9 million, bolstered by grants from the Caring for Denver Foundation. STAR responded to over 5,700 eligible calls that year, covering 44 percent of them and costing just $151 per incident—far below the $646 for a traditional police response. Two-thirds of those served were homeless, highlighting how the program addresses root causes like poverty and housing instability that hit Denver’s laborers hardest.

Expansion accelerated in 2023, with eight vans, 16 responder teams, and service extended to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The program fielded over 7,000 calls, reaching 38 percent of eligible ones, while handling an additional 7,899 referrals from other agencies. Yet growth revealed tensions: Community voices, including the STAR Community Advisory Committee, raised concerns about insufficient input as oversight moved from police to the Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE). Advocates argued that without robust community governance, STAR risked becoming an extension of the system it aimed to reform. In response, program leaders committed to formalizing the advisory committee with charter-level authority to ensure resident-led decision-making.

Into 2024 and 2025, STAR’s impact deepened amid fiscal challenges. The budget climbed to $7.2 million, including $5.3 million from the city, enabling hires like a behavioral health manager and public health analyst. A $1.5 million grant from Caring for Denver supported partnerships with nonprofits like Servicios de la Raza for culturally responsive follow-up care. By mid-2025, STAR had tallied 25,144 responses since inception, serving over 8,500 unique individuals across 14,000 encounters. Remarkably, only 3 percent of 12,000 clinical interactions from 2020 to 2024 ended in mandatory psychiatric holds, showcasing de-escalation’s power over restraint.

This progress translates to tangible gains for working-class Denverites. Police and first responders, freed from nonviolent calls, can focus on urgent threats, while families avoid the ripple effects of arrests—lost wages, court fees, and fractured stability. STAR’s teams, diverse in culture and language, build trust in neighborhoods long wary of badges, fostering a safety net woven by clinicians, not cuffs. As one reform activist noted during the program’s fifth-anniversary recognition, each diverted call “could potentially be a life saved.”

Challenges persist. Budget shortfalls threaten cuts—up to $800,000 in 2025—despite calls to reallocate from police overtime. Expansion to 24/7 service, a long-held goal, hinges on sustainable funding. And while STAR has become a national model, its success depends on amplifying community control: the advisory network, now partnering with five local hubs, must guide priorities like equitable access in underserved areas.

As Denver marks STAR’s fifth year, its success underscores a broader truth: Community safety thrives when we invest in care, not just control. The program has handled thousands of crises without a single escalation to violence, proving that alternatives to police response aren’t radical, they’re essential. With plans for 24/7 service on the horizon, despite fiscal headwinds, STAR points the way toward equitable systems that uplift working and disabled people rather than endanger them.

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