Durham's HEART Program has responded to more than 42,000 calls since launch, and city data shows crime reports in those situations have dropped by nearly 60%, with arrests down 56% and response times improved by more than three minutes.
The program pairs crisis response clinicians with either police officers or peer support specialists, depending on the call. Peer specialists bring lived experience with homelessness, mental health crises, or substance use. "Our superpower is the ability to build a connection," said David Prater, a peer support specialist with HEART.
Teams ride through Durham in supply-stocked vehicles, meeting residents where they are. Those supplies run the range: hygiene kits, food, Narcan, fentanyl test strips, pet food, ponchos, bug repellent, and clean supplies for safer use. People served by the program are called neighbors, not clients or patients.
In the last year alone, HEART saved Durham police more than 8,000 hours, freeing officers for calls that require a law enforcement presence. Ryan Smith, director of the Durham Community Safety Department and HEART's first employee, said officer skepticism has faded. "Every year we've seen growth in the number of calls we're being sent to, and police officers showing up on scene saying, actually, what we need here is HEART," Smith said.
The program runs 51 staffers, seven days a week, 15 hours a day. That is not enough. HEART does not operate overnight, and Smith said it misses eligible calls even during its active hours. "The only way that is going to happen is increasing the number of responders we have to cover an entire city," he said.
For clinician Kyatta Harvey, the work is personal. She grew up in a family dealing with mental health and substance use challenges, unsure where to turn. Now she responds to crises herself. "At any given moment, any given day, it could be myself. It could be you," Harvey said.