Seattle's innovative Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) program continues to grow, with its trained social workers now assisting in the North Precinct. This expansion aims to alleviate pressure on police officers by handling low-level crisis calls, allowing them to focus on more serious matters.
A new team is in place in north Seattle to help people on the streets who are homeless, in crisis, or need help with issues like drug addictions. The Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) program recently expanded and its crisis responders are now operating in the North Precinct. These social workers get dispatched alongside Seattle police to help with welfare checks, person-down reports, and other types of low-level crisis calls.
CARE teams have been patrolling downtown and the Chinatown-International District but added the North Precinct this year. They represent Seattle’s newest arm of public safety response, alongside police officers and firefighters. In the North Precinct, CARE patrols run from noon to 10 p.m. The team can initiate their own calls for service, which typically involves approaching people in need and talking to them about what kind of help could benefit them. CARE Chief Amy Barden is reaching out to community organizations throughout the North Precinct to identify neighborhoods with the highest needs. Given the staffing shortages Seattle police still face, finding another way to handle crisis calls without an officer being present is considered a game-changer. This can take a significant amount of pressure off of officers who can focus on violent crimes and other priorities.In the past, police couldn’t always go to some mental health calls because they were tied up with more serious crimes. The CARE team said they are on the scene and offering help on average within seven minutes of a call. The CARE team is currently working out of the UW police station but will be moving into the Seattle Police Department’s North Precinct annex building. Another CARE expansion is scheduled to take place in March, when it starts covering areas in the South and Southwest precincts
CARE Team Seattle Crisis Response Social Workers Police Staffing Shortages
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
North Dakota's ban on gender-affirming care for kids heads to trialA trial is scheduled to begin Monday in Bismarck over North Dakota's ban on gender-affirming medical care for kids. The trial is set to last eight days. Three families and a pediatric endocrinologist allege in a lawsuit filed in 2023 that the law violates the state constitution. Then-Gov.
Read more »
North Dakota's ban on gender-affirming care for kids heads to trialA trial is scheduled to begin Monday in Bismarck over North Dakota's ban on gender-affirming medical care for kids
Read more »
North Dakota Law Restricting Transgender Minors' Medical Care Headed to TrialA trial is scheduled to begin in Bismarck, North Dakota, over a controversial law that restricts medical care for transgender minors. The lawsuit, brought by families of transgender children and a physician, claims the law violates the state's constitution. The Republican-led Legislature passed the law last year, making it a misdemeanor to prescribe hormone treatments or puberty blockers to transgender children and a felony to perform gender-affirming surgery on minors.
Read more »
North Dakota Transgender Care Ban Heads to TrialA trial will begin in North Dakota over a law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The lawsuit, brought by families and a doctor, argues the law violates the state constitution.
Read more »
North Dakota Gender-Affirming Care Law Faces Constitutional Challenge in CourtA trial begins in North Dakota to challenge the constitutionality of a law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The case, filed by families and a doctor, argues that the law violates the state's constitution and denies transgender youth access to necessary healthcare. The trial is expected to last eight days, with a ruling unclear at this time.
Read more »
North Dakota Law Banning Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth Heads to TrialA trial is set to begin in North Dakota over a law banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The lawsuit, filed by families of transgender children and a doctor, argues that the law violates the state's constitution. North Dakota is one of over two dozen states that have enacted similar bans.
Read more »