The Fifth Branch: Last Line of Care

Alternative response teams are being asked to tackle vexing problems: mental illness, homelessness, addiction. How much can they actually do? We explore how Durham grapples with connecting people to long-term care and support, and where the city draws the line between crisis response and social services.

Guests:

Ryan Smith, Director, Durham Community Safety Department

Sammetta Cutler, Peer Support Specialist, Durham Community Safety Department

Sarah Hall, Durham resident

David Prater, Peer Support Specialist, Durham Community Safety Department

John Warasila, Real estate developer and architect, Alliance Architecture

Bo Ferguson, Deputy City Manager, Durham

Patrice Andrews, Police Chief, Durham Police Department

Christie Thompson, Staff Writer, The Marshall Project

Allison Casey, EMT, Durham Community Safety Department

EMS, Fire, Police and the 911 Call Center make up the existing four branches of the public safety system. A special series from Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project explores how a city radically changes its response to people in crisis, by creating a fifth branch. 

Nearly half of the country’s 50 largest cities - including San Francisco, New York, Houston, Chicago - have launched programs to send unarmed responders to 911 calls historically handled by cops. In the process creating a new generation of first responders made up of clinicians, EMTs and unarmed mental health workers all responding to people who struggle with addiction, homelessness and mental illness. 

To understand this work we head to Durham, North Carolina, which has - in the face of skepticism and downright opposition - built one of the most comprehensive programs in the country.

How did Durham pull off what so many cities have struggled to do? Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project examine this groundbreaking work and the challenges it’s facing, both in Durham and around the country.

Learn more on our website.

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