Community responders are a new type of first responder who responds to nonviolent calls without the police. Over 100 American cities now utilize community responder teams to address low-level health and social needs, which saves police and ambulances time and allows them to respond faster to higher-priority calls.

In Buffalo today, over 80% of 911 calls to Buffalo Police do not involve crime or violence, and yet police are almost always sent – an approach that is dangerous, unnecessary, costly, and ineffective. Instead, community responder teams composed of health professionals and peers can be safely deployed without the police to many of these calls and prevent situations from escalating into crises. An initial $100,000 in state funding has been secured by Senator Sean Ryan to begin community outreach, training, and data collection for a pilot community responder program in Buffalo.

The press conference was hosted by The Community Responders for Erie County Coalition comprised the Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition, Partnership for the Public Good, Little People’s Victory, VOICE Buffalo, and Evergreen Health.

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