The teams have thus far responded to calls for help from Chicagoans in Uptown, Lakeview and North Center on the North Side, as well as in Auburn Gresham and Chatham on the South Side.
Those calls resulted in zero arrests and zero use of force, according to Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady, who said CARE teams are “beginning to fill a very much needed gap in Chicago.”
Of those 134 calls, 48% were resolved through a CARE team response on-scene that didn’t require additional transportation. In those cases, Arwady said, CARE team members de-escalated the situation and helped get those in crisis connected to immediate mental health care or other assistance. According to the data, CARE teams twice approved emergency hospitalizations for people on scene, and on one occasion, a CARE team member sustained an on-duty injury. That person was apparently kicked unintentionally by a person, but Arwardy said they were treated and resumed their duties that same day.
“We’ve gotten really, really great feedback,” said Matt Richards, the CDPH deputy commissioner of behavioral health. “You can actually listen to the calls and can hear people saying, ‘Can you please send the CARE team?’ I think that’s really what we were looking to build towards, is that residents are aware of this resource and know to ask for it.”